{"id":801580,"date":"2026-03-09T04:18:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T04:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/801580\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T04:18:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T04:18:16","slug":"offensive-line-comes-into-focus-as-packers-ensure-veteran-guard-aaron-banks-return-with-restructured-deal-top-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/801580\/","title":{"rendered":"Offensive line comes into focus as Packers ensure veteran guard Aaron Banks\u2019 return with restructured deal | Top Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

GREEN BAY \u2014 Striking a deal with center Sean Rhyan before the free-agent negotiation window was set to begin<\/a> wasn\u2019t the only solidifying move the Green Bay Packers made on their offensive line on Sunday.<\/p>\n

They also reworked veteran left guard Aaron Banks\u2019 existing contract, taking the $9.5 million roster bonus he was due next week and his scheduled $7.7 million base salary for 2026 and converting most of that money into a signing bonus, allowing them to spread out the salary-cap charge and lower Banks\u2019 onerous $24.791 million scheduled cap number.<\/p>\n

ESPN was first to report the alteration to Banks\u2019 contract.<\/p>\n

Packers are doing a simple restructure of OG Aaron Banks’ contract to reduce his $24.8M cap hit, per source. He’s due $7.7M base and $9.5M roster bonus, which the team can prorate. With Sean Rhyan signing, two IOL spots solidified in GB. Must address Elgton Jenkins’ future<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Assuming the Packers converted as much of Banks\u2019 existing money as they could into the restructured bonus \u2014 $15.985 million, or all the money he was due except for his new $1.215 million base salary for 2026 \u2014 they cut his cap number in more than half, to $12.003 million, according to Spotrac.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Packers signed Banks as a free agent from the San Francisco 49ers last offseason, giving him a four-year, $77 million that included a $27 million guaranteed up-front signing bonus.<\/p>\n

But his first year in Green Bay did not go as planned, with a training-camp back injury curtailing his practice time and other nagging injuries affecting him, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, people are like, \u2018Why do you look so angry?\u2019 And I\u2019m like, \u2018I can\u2019t help it, man. I want to play.\u2019 Nobody wants to sit on the sideline, nobody wants to be hurt and not out there helping the team win,\u201d Banks said during the season. \u201cSo, it\u2019s easy go get frustrated and get down on yourself but that\u2019s where you have to take the turn and stop saying \u2018Poor me!\u2019 and start helping the team in whatever way you can.<\/p>\n

He is set to turn 29 on Sept. 3, but general manager Brian Gutekunst seemed to be leaning toward keeping Banks all along.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe really hadn\u2019t missed much time in his career. Some of the things he went through were unexpected,\u201d Gutekunst said last month. \u201cI really thought he played well toward the end of the season, once he got healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Banks wound up playing 747 of the Packers\u2019 1,051 regular-season offensive snaps (71.08%), starting 14 games at left guard. His signing precipitated former Pro Bowl left guard Elgton Jenkins\u2019 move to center, where he struggled before suffering a season-ending leg injury in November.<\/p>\n

Pro Football Focus had Banks with a 53.0 overall grade in 2025, which ranked 66th among the 81 eligible guards the site graded. He committed four penalties on the season, and he allowed two sacks and 28 pressures in pass protection.<\/p>\n

With Banks returning \u2014 the Packers would be on the hook for more than $36 million in dead cap money if they did a 180\u00b0 and inexplicably moved on from him after restructuring his deal \u2014 and Rhyan having reached an agreement on a three-year, $33 million extension earlier in the day, the Packers\u2019 theoretical starting five is set.<\/p>\n

With left tackle Rasheed Walker set to sign elsewhere in unrestricted free agency and Jenkins almost certainly going to be released to clear roughly $19 million in salary-cap space, the Packers are likely to start 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan at left tackle, Banks at left guard, Rhyan at center, Belton at right guard and Zach Tom, who is recovering from a late-season patellar tendon injury, at right tackle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was a lot of moving parts and we never just got off the way we wanted to [last season],\u201d Gutekunst said of the inconsistency up front. \u201cWe had some young players playing in there, some guys that had moved positions and some injuries happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo guys were moving around, some players [were] in contract years, things like that, so there [were] a lot of things going on there. But that is definitely one of the areas that we need to be better at if we\u2019re going to accomplish the things we want to accomplish in December and January.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u200bCOPYRIGHT 2026 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.<\/p>\n