Finding great value in the first wave of free agency is almost impossible. Every team that opens the checkbook will overpay to some degree. That said, the Green Bay Packers' decision to hand guard Aaron Banks a massive $77 million contract has understandably raised eyebrows.
Banks is a solid starter but not among the best guards in the league. The Packers are paying him like a star.
It will also force Jordan Morgan or Sean Rhyan out of the starting lineup. Pro Bowl guard Elgton Jenkins will slide to center to replace the departing Josh Myers, with Banks taking over at left guard. It means either Rhyan, who played admirably as the starting right guard in 2024, or Morgan, the Packers' first-round pick a year ago, will miss out.
Many wondered if the reported $77 million figure would actually be far more reasonable. That's not the case. As Packers cap expert Ken Ingalls points out, Banks is now on the team's fifth-richest contract and will earn the most cash in 2025.
"Aaron Banks is the seventh-highest paid guard by yearly average. Will he ever be a top-10 guard? Seems unlikely. This is an overpay," writes Zach Kruse of Packers Wire.
With Banks' full contract details now available, the Packers clearly missed a golden opportunity to upgrade their pass rush.
Packers should've spent the Aaron Banks money to land free-agent pass-rusher Josh Sweat
Kruse is right, while also noting that it's the "price of doing business" after swinging and missing on Josh Myers in the draft.
But the Packers could've used the money far more effectively.
Green Bay handed Banks a four-year, $77 million contract. The Arizona Cardinals landed star pass-rusher Josh Sweat on a four-year, $76.4 million deal.
For effectively the same price, the Packers could've signed a game-changing pass-rusher at an urgent position of need instead of a solid starting guard.
Sweat starred in the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl run. He registered eight regular-season sacks, along with 15 quarterback hits. According to Pro Football Focus, Sweat had more pressures (54) than any Packers defender.
The former Pro Bowler raised his game to another level in the playoffs, making 2.5 sacks in the Eagles' dominant Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Sweat is a game-changer. The Packers had an opportunity to massively upgrade their up-and-down pass rush, easing the pressure to use an early draft pick. Outside of an unlikely trade for Trey Hendrickson, the Packers are running out of veteran options.
Banks is a solid addition, but Green Bay missed a golden opportunity to land a difference-maker at its most urgent need.