Florida defensive tackle and 2026 NFL Draft prospect Caleb Banks shed light on the foot injury he endured during the NFL Combine in February, revealing he suffered a "little crack on the side" of the fourth metatarsal of his left foot, the same ailment that derailed his redshirt senior season with the Gators in 2025.
Banks underwent surgery to treat the injury in early March and was given an 8-to-12 week recovery timeline, which should allow him to participate in offseason training activities with the team that selects him in the upcoming draft.
Banks noted that he suffered the injury while training for workouts at the NFL Combine, initially believing it was not a serious ailment and proceeding to participate the following day.
"So it happened the night before. I was practicing my starts around, like, 11 o'clock, and it popped. I kept running, kept doing my starts, and then I'm just thinking this is, like, a muscle injury, you know what I mean? Something like that. Nothing too serious," Banks recalled.
"But then I went out there and ran the second 40[-yard dash], that's when I started feeling it, like, real, real bad. Well, after the first 40, I started feeling real bad. Then I ran the second one, I ran a 5.1. So, yeah, I tried to do a drill, didn't look good, didn't want to put anything like that on film. So just sat down."
Despite the break in his foot, Banks made the most of the athletic testing drills he conducted in Indianapolis.
In addition to his 5.04-second 40-yard dash — a 60th percentile result for defensive tackles at the Combine since 1999 — Banks also logged a 32-inch vertical jump (79th percentile) and a 114-inch broad jump (92nd percentile), while standing at 6-foot-6 1/4 (98th percentile), 327 pounds (89th percentile) with an 85 3/4-inch wingspan (98th percentile).
"That's pretty good, huh?" Banks said of his performance.
"I'm excited. I'm proud of myself, you know what I mean? I work hard every single day so I can go out there and compete. I'm a big guy to compete all the time, no matter what it is. Rock, paper, scissors. I'll play one of y'all right now. I promise you I'm gonna win. That's just how I am. So, I take pride in a lot of that stuff, so happy I went out there and did what I did."
Considering his impressive results while working out on a broken foot, paired with his career production with Florida and his strong showing at the Senior Bowl in January, Banks does not believe his latest injury has negatively impacted his draft stock.
"I mean, absolutely not. I don't think that it undercuts my value. I don't think that it did anything detrimental to my draft stock," said Banks.
"I don't really think too much about that, you know what I mean? I'm staying grounded, like, it happened, it happened. You know, my story's already written. So, I'm kind of just taking it day by day. Wherever I land, that's where I'm supposed to land."
Banks' potential landing spots are beginning to emerge.
After meeting with every team at the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine, which is customary for prospects who attend those events, Banks has visited the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals already, and is scheduled to visit the Detroit Lions, Tennessee Titans, Denver Broncos, the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Chargers in the coming weeks.
Whichever team ultimately selects Banks come next month's NFL Draft will be banking on his potential, as his foot injury last season limited the defensive tackle to three games played.
During his 2024 breakout season, Banks produced 21 tackles including seven for loss, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one defended pass, and per Pro Football Focus, a team-leading 29 quarterback pressures and 13 defensive stops. He finished the year with a 73.0 overall defensive grade from PFF, earning 67.9 run defense and 73.2 pass rush marks.
In his college career, between three seasons at Florida and two at Louisville, Banks posted 48 tackles with 10.5 for loss, 6.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, one defended pass, one fumble recovery, 59 quarterback pressures and 21 defensive stops.
Confident about the play he has put on film and his athleticism for a lineman of his size, Banks believes whichever NFL team drafts him will be getting a disruptive force for their defensive front, one that is willing to learn from the veteran players who surround him.
"Somebody who is gonna go out there and dominate every single play. Give it his all. Go in there, work, put his head down and do what he got to do. Be a sponge, and hang around the vets and mean, pick up everything that I can so I can be productive. So that we can go win a Super Bowl."
The 2026 NFL Draft will take place from April 23–25 in Pittsburgh, Pa.