Aaron Banks - Guard Free Agent Signing 2025

[tynimiller]

Contract Details Known now (added 3/12/2025)

4 yrs/$77M SB of $27M (only guaranteed money)

Year1 cap hit is a mere $9.15M
Year2 is $24.85M and could save already $2.5M by cutting
Year3 is $22.25M and could save nearly $10M by cutting
Year4 is $20.75M and could save $14M by cutting

IF Banks proves to be a starter this is fine, you could ride out his entire contract - cap will only continue to rise and the 20-25M range for a starting guard while seems high now won't be in the close future. Personally I'd have bumped the year one hit higher but this tells me they're planning to still add some hits to this year's cap.

 

[Dantés]

Contract Details Known now (added 3/12/2025)

4 yrs/$77M SB of $27M (only guaranteed money)

Year1 cap hit is a mere $9.15M
Year2 is $24.85M and could save already $2.5M by cutting
Year3 is $22.25M and could save nearly $10M by cutting
Year4 is $20.75M and could save $14M by cutting

IF Banks proves to be a starter this is fine, you could ride out his entire contract - cap will only continue to rise and the 20-25M range for a starting guard while seems high now won't be in the close future. Personally I'd have bumped the year one hit higher but this tells me they're planning to still add some hits to this year's cap.

This is why the Packers are willing to pay a higher AAV for a longer contract with less guarantees. They have Banks under control through age 30 but if he hits a wall, they have the flexibility to move on earlier.

 

[Dantés]

It’s funny to me that the Packers spend 19.5 AAV on a guard in his prime and everyone balks, but the Vikings spend 20 AAV on a 30 year old defensive tackle who just got cut for cap savings and everyone fawns.

 

[mradtke66]

But he never took a single snap, even though we had serious depth problems on the O line - especially late in the season, after he'd had almost 6 months in the system, but they still didn't trust him to step in and play a role?

I have a strong suspicion the staff sees Monk as a center-only player. Our depth issues were at guard, so they never saw a good chance to use him.

Speculation, of course.

 

[mradtke66]

Here's what I've got on the Banks signing:

-The Packers clearly love the idea of Jenkins at center.

-The Packers clearly don't see Morgan as a left guard. It's TBD whether they want him to be the future at RG or LT.

It's also possible they want to move Banks to RG once they get him here. Jenkins to C and Banks to LG is certainly a reasonable thought given Banks' history, but in a world where Monk is our best center, having two good guards in Jenkins and Banks would make Monk's job significantly easier.

Jenkins might not want to be a center--centers get paid less than guards and he likely has a chance to get one last big contract. Highest paid center: Creed Humphrey at 18M per year average. Number 2 center is 14M. There are 5 guards averaging over 20M per year, 13 making 18M or more pear year.

Similarly, that would mean Morgan and Rhyan, two guys who started for us last year, are suddenly our 6th and 7th lineman. Rhyan would presumably be the interior backup and Morgan would be freed to compete for the starting LT job and the loser of Morgan/Walker is your swing. That's suddenly a very strong group.

I'm not saying this is a certainty, just a possibility.

 

[RRyder]

The Packers have drafted 14 O-linemen since Gut took over in 2018. I don’t think they know how to draft O-line. If they did they wouldn’t be signing one, he should already be on the team. Contrary to popular opinion out there, I don’t think the Packers know how to build a good team in the NFL of today. Their own division rivals have all passed them up and I think they have a good chance of occupying the basement position at the end 2025. Having Aaron Rodgers as quarterback covered up their failures in the draft. The only thing that will save them is a fan revolt which I don’t see coming anytime soon. One of the disadvantages of having a diffuse style of ownership, but not inferior to egotistical forms of ownership. Good luck to the Niners with the loss of so many of their players.

If only we didn't have a good team that's made the POs the last two years without Aaron Rodgers this might not be an asinine post