Aaron Banks' first season with the Green Bay Packers couldn't have gone much worse, and it started last summer.
Packers fans can be forgiven for feeling a sense of deja vu as the team opens training camp. Per the NFL's transaction wire, Banks will begin camp on the physically unable to perform list. It's concerning because he dealt with several injuries during camp last summer, which ultimately continued into the regular season.
Back issues limited Banks throughout last year's training camp, and he later battled ankle and groin injuries in the fall, missing two games.
Banks failed to live up to his $77 million contract. His overall Pro Football Focus grade ranked 64th among 81 guards, while he finished 58th in run blocking and 68th in pass blocking. The Packers need far more from Banks this season.
Aaron Banks' injury hands Packers rookie a golden opportunity at training camp
When Banks is healthy, he will start. No doubt about that. The Packers didn't hand him a massive contract (and then double-down this offseason by restructuring it) for him to sit on the bench.
However, his absence at practice could give fifth-round rookie Jager Burton a golden opportunity to gain valuable first-team reps.
Burton has experience playing all three interior positions along the offensive line, and he turned heads with an outstanding performance in the offseason program. The rookie's path to a starting spot is likely at center or right guard, but any first-team reps he gets will give him a chance to show Matt LaFleur what he can do. Especially once the pads go on.
"The best pick the Packers have made," FanSided's draft expert Mike Luciano said moments after Green Bay selected Burton in the fifth round. So far, it has been easy to see why Luciano thought so highly of the Kentucky product.
Packers desperately need Aaron Banks to stay healthy after offseason gamble
The Packers had an opportunity to get out of Banks' contract this offseason. It wouldn't have been cheap, leaving them with $20.3 million in dead money. They instead chose a riskier option, however.
Green Bay restructured his contract, a move that alleviated some short-term cap pain but pushed money into future years. It makes it almost impossible for the Packers to release Banks in 2027, as they would lose cap space by doing so. It's a gamble they could live to regret.
Banks needs to stay healthy. That's priority number one.
The Packers haven't provided any details on his injury, and it's important to note that any player can be activated from the PUP list at any time. Maybe it's just an issue that will keep him out for a few days.
But the pattern is more concerning. We saw this last year. Banks would miss a few practices, return, then miss more time. The injury problems continued into the regular season, and Banks fell well short of expectations after the Packers made him one of the highest-paid guards in football.
Hopefully, it's just a short-term issue that Banks will overcome before enjoying a breakout season. For now, though, it's understandable if you are feeling a sense of painful deja vu.
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