Aaron Banks caused a lot of headaches in his first season with the Green Bay Packers. After getting hurt in one of his first practices with the team, he struggled to fit in, posting a 53.0 overall grade and allowing 28 pressures and two sacks on 411 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
The performance was so disappointing that there was some speculation he could be released after the first year of a four-year, $77 million contract, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Packers have executed a simple restructure of Banks’s deal, reducing his $24.8 million cap hit for the upcoming season and allowing the team to prorate his $7.7 million base salary and $9.5 million roster bonus for the upcoming season.
The decision creates some short-term benefits, allowing the Packers to create cap space ahead of free agency and giving Banks some of his base salary up front. But it also could create another long-term headache if Banks doesn’t round into shape in 2026.
Aaron Banks’s Contract Restructure May Be More Trouble Than It’s Worth
According to Over The Cap, “A simple restructure converts payments into prorated signing bonuses within the confines of the remainder of the contract. Teams have the ability to unilaterally execute simple restructures without any action necessary from the player,” but it also creates more dead money at the end of a contract.
If Banks underperforms for a second straight year, there’s a good chance the Packers will want out of his contract. Before Sunday’s decision, the Packers could have done so with $13.5 million in dead money and $8.75 million in cap savings. However, this move shovels more money into the future, furthering the conversation of whether Green Bay really wants to get rid of Banks at all.
For now, the Packers may believe they’re better with Banks than without. The Packers' offensive line is set to go through a big shift for the second straight offseason as Elgton Jenkins is expected to be released and Rasheed Walker is expected to leave in free agency. The Packers will likely lean on 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan to replace Walker, but have tabbed Sean Rhyan as the long-term replacement at center, reportedly agreeing to a three-year, $33 million contract extension on Sunday.
The insertion of Morgan at left tackle should help Banks, as he posted a 66.0 overall grade and allowed six pressures and two sacks on 118 pass-blocking snaps after Jenkins suffered a season-ending lower leg fracture in Week 10, per PFF. Rhyan also played well, posting a 62.5 overall grade in the final seven games, but Banks struggled mightily in that lineup, posting a 54.2 overall grade and allowing 17 pressures with a sack on 220 pass-blocking snaps.
These advanced statistics are never a full indicator of a player's effectiveness, but they do help paint the picture. Unfortunately for Banks, his play in 2025 resembled that of a toddler with a crayon rather than a Rembrandt.
If Banks stumbles again, it’s going to lead to a more difficult conversation for general manager Brian Gutekunst, and it could make the Packers regret this move, creating another headache in a tenure that’s been full of them after coming to Green Bay.