Aaron Banks is a game-time decision for Week 1.
Of course he is.
If there’s one thing you can count on from the Packers, it’s an injury report long enough to make you wonder if they’ll have enough bodies to field a team on Sunday. Green Bay has never been shy about reporting every bump, bruise, ache, pain, limited rep, mildly inconvenient body part, case of mono, or bout of diarrhea.
Yes. Diarrhea.
At this point, I’m surprised even seasonal allergies don’t come with a "Questionable" designation. And heading into Week 1, Banks finds himself amongst the walking wounded. But honestly, the decision surrounding Banks looms much larger than whether he suits up on Sunday against the Vikings.
After an underwhelming and injury-plagued first season in Green Bay, plus an offseason that did little to quiet concerns, Banks enters Year 2 with more questions than answers. His place in the starting lineup is no longer as comfortable as the contract he signed would suggest, and with the ascendant Jager Burton waiting behind him, the Packers may soon have to decide what exactly they want out of their whopping $77 million investment. And that decision could stretch well beyond the starting five.
Here’s where things get weird.
I’m not convinced Aaron Banks should be the Packers’ starting left guard, and I'd wager my CHTV paycheck (which isn't much) that many of my fellow armchair GMs feel the same way. But I’m starting to think it may be in their best interest to start him anyway.
At the end of the day, Banks is a $77 million investment that’s burning a hole in the Packers’ pocket, and I can think of a whole lot of things I’d rather see them spend that money on (cough Brandon Cisse extension in two years cough) than a guy who’s likely playing in the wrong scheme and has been underwhelming at best when he’s actually on the field.
That last part matters. Banks didn’t suddenly forget how to play football when he arrived in Green Bay. He built his reputation in San Francisco playing in an offense that allowed him to use his size and power to his advantage. The Packers asked him to do something different, and so far, the marriage has looked about as comfortable as dress shoes two sizes too small. Maybe Banks isn’t a bad football player. Maybe he’s just a bad fit.
And if that’s the case, there may still be somebody out there willing to pay for what Green Bay hasn’t been able to get out of him. And that brings us back to why I actually want Banks on the field. You can’t sell something nobody wants to see.
If Banks spends the next several weeks riding the bench while Jager Burton takes hold of the starting job, congratulations Brian Gutekunst — the Packers have successfully announced to 31 other teams that their $77 million guard is both expendable and available. Good luck getting anything of value for him after that. But if Banks gets healthy, starts, and manages to string together a few solid performances? Now we’re having a much different conversation. The Packers aren’t shopping an expensive backup they’re desperate to get rid of. They’re dangling an experienced starting guard who has already proven he can play quality football in the right environment. Do I need Banks to suddenly become an All-Pro? Absolutely not. I just need him to look good enough for some offensive line coach around the league to turn on the film and say the four most beautiful words Brian Gutekunst could hear: “I can fix him.”
The Packers have already done their due diligence to make a potential deal easier. Russ Ball’s restructure of Banks’ contract didn’t just provide some much-needed cap relief in the present — it also made the contract a little more palatable for somebody else. Had Ball left the original deal untouched, Green Bay would’ve been staring at an ugly financial decision whenever Matt LaFleur was finally ready to go full speed ahead with Burton at left guard. Instead, the Packers have at least given themselves some flexibility. And flexibility creates options.
Could a productive Banks fetch a sixth-round pick from a team that believes he fits what they do better than what the Packers have asked him to do? I don’t think that’s unreasonable. Is a sixth-round pick sexy? Absolutely not. But it beats eventually cutting him for nothing and watching the relationship end with nothing more than a bunch of dead money and a collective “well, that sucked.” Besides, Burton himself was only a fifth-round pick. Who knows what Gutekunst could do with an extra sixth in his pocket? Maybe it becomes ammunition to move around in the 2027 Draft. Maybe he uses it on another offensive lineman and continues building the depth this unit desperately needs. And judging by where things stand right now, they could use it. You’re next up, Dalton Cooper.
And there could be a market.
The Chargers and Titans immediately come to mind, and conveniently enough, both have a sixth-round pick in 2027. Los Angeles has Seattle’s sixth after dealing its own to New Orleans, while Tennessee still owns its original selection. Both also make sense from a football standpoint. The Chargers want to run the football and have an unsettled left guard spot, while the Titans have a young quarterback in Cam Ward, who had a rough preseason, and an interior offensive line that could use another proven body.
Then there’s Atlanta.
The Falcons might actually be one of Banks’ better schematic fits, especially for an offense that should continue feeding Bijan Robinson and incorporating plenty of gap concepts. The problem is compensation. Atlanta has already dealt away its original fifth and sixth-round selections in 2027, so making something work there would require a little more creativity — perhaps a conditional pick, a different round, or dipping into 2028.
But let's not go full Madden franchise mode here.
Although, since we’re already playing...
"Hey Giants, you want your power scheme guard? Give us Jon Runyan Jr. back!" New York just extended Runyan, so they’d probably hang up before Gutekunst finished the sentence, but a man can dream....
Okay, now we can put the controller down.
The point is that Green Bay doesn’t need 31 teams lining up for Aaron Banks. They just need one team to look at its offensive line, look at Banks’ tape, and decide he makes more sense in their offense than he does in ours.
So, should Aaron Banks start against the Vikings? If he’s healthy enough to go, I think the answer might actually be yes. Not because I’ve suddenly changed my mind about Banks. I haven’t. And not because I think Jager Burton should spend another season waiting patiently for his turn; quite the opposite. Sometimes you have to play the long game. Banks needs an opportunity to remind the rest of the NFL why Green Bay handed him $77 million in the first place. Let him get healthy, put some respectable tape together, and maybe — just maybe — somebody running an offense better suited to his strengths decides there’s still something worth investing in. Worst case? Banks plays like the guy we’ve already seen, Burton eventually takes over, and the Packers figure out the divorce later. Best case? Banks plays well enough to make another general manager believe the problem was Green Bay and not Aaron Banks. And if Gutekunst can turn a bad marriage into a draft pick, some cap flexibility, or — if the Giants are feeling particularly generous — Jon Runyan Jr., I’ll happily help Banks pack his bags.
So yes, Aaron Banks may be a game-time decision against Minnesota.
But for the Packers?
This is a season-time decision.
The Packers kick off against the Vikings in Minnesota at 3:25 central/4:25 eastern. See how Banks, Jordan Morgan, Sean Rhyan, Jacob Monk, and Zach Bako-Bewele and the rest of the offense start of the season on their quest for the Packers' fifth Super Bowl title.
#GPG
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Joseph has been an avid fan of the Green Bay Packers since 1997, citing an affinity for dairy products during his childhood and his favorite color, green. Born in Jacksonville, FL, Joseph currently is an Active Duty servicemember in the U.S. Armed Forces. Joseph considers himself a lifelong fan of the game of football, competing since his youth well into adulthood. When it comes to the Pack, Joseph is particularly impassioned about the NFL Draft and collegiate scouting process, and will contribute regularly on CHTV.com leading to that year's upcoming Draft. You can follow him on Twitter at @joeyreyallday.