The Green Bay Packers went into last offseason looking to turn a good team into an elite one. The Packers succeeded in one way by adding Micah Parsons on the defensive side, but the high-priced investment to add Aaron Banks to the offensive line has failed spectacularly.
Banks was brought into elevate a group that ranked sixth in Pro Football Focus’s offensive line rankings at the end of the 2024 season and gave him a four-year, $77 million contract to perform the task. But Banks’s deal was questionable at the time and became even more so after he missed the Week 2 game against the Washington Commanders with ankle in groin injuries.
While he returned to the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns, Banks went right back on the shelf after ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported that he aggravated his groin injury in the first half. The injury is another black mark on what has been a troubling signing for Green Bay and more evidence that they made one of the biggest overpays in this year’s free agent class.
Packers’ Risky Bet on Aaron Banks Is Already Backfiring After 3 Weeks
Banks was solid as a starting guard for the San Francisco 49ers with a 65.4 overall grade last year and 69.9 pass-blocking grade according to Pro Football Focus. By adding him, the Packers let go of struggling center Josh Myers and slid Elgton Jenkins over to center. But bringing Banks avoided several warning signs that popped up over his three seasons as a starter.
A 59.5 overall grade in his first year as a starter wasn’t a terrible start for Banks but that grade dipped to 52.8 during the 2023 season. While Banks rebounded to earn his new contract, he suffered a season-ending MCL injury last December, marking an unofficial end to his time in San Francisco.
Since then, Banks hasn’t been able to get out of the training room. A back injury forced Banks to spend critical practices during training camp with his new team and his Green Bay debut didn’t go well, posting an overall grade of 44.0 and allowing a pressure on 23 pass-blocking snaps before exiting with groin and ankle injuries. While he missed last week’s game, getting back on the field was a positive sign until he got hurt again against the Browns.
An optimistic take would say that Banks will heal up and the Packers offensive line will be better when they escape their rash of injuries. But things got worse when NFL insider Jordan Schultz revealed that Zach Tom has been trying to play through a torn oblique muscle and also left Sunday’s game.
With Jenkins also learning a new position, the Packers’ offseason vision has been thrown off course. Some of that has to do with poor injury luck. But the decision to sign Banks isn’t worth it and could have the Packers trying to find ways to get out of it less than a year after overpaying to bring him to Green Bay.