The Green Bay Packers made a big splash on the opening day of 2025 free-agent negotiations — one that could put them on a trajectory to move one of their Pro Bowl starters to a different position for the upcoming NFL season.
According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, the Packers agreed to terms Monday on a four-year, $77 million contract with former San Francisco 49ers guard Aaron Banks, giving an experienced veteran to help protect star quarterback Jordan Love on the interior.
Banks has become an adept pass-blocker over his first four NFL seasons. According to Pro Football Focus, he has allowed just three sacks on nearly 1,700 career pass-blocking snaps at left guard. The 2021 second-round pick also made 43 starts for the Niners.
With that in mind, Demovsky suggested Banks’ past playing left guard could indicate the Packers have plans to move Pro Bowl left guard Elgton Jenkins to center in 2025.
“Given that Banks played almost exclusively at left guard, that could be an indication of a plan to move Jenkins to center.” Demovsky wrote on March 10. “The Packers also want to find a way to get their 2024 first-round pick, Jordan Morgan, into a starting role on the offensive line.”
Elgton Jenkins Has Played Center Before for Packers
The suggestion that the Packers could move Jenkins to center for the 2025 season is not farfetched. Jenkins’ history at the position might even make it their most logical move.
Jenkins played 297 snaps at center in 2020, making three starts at the position during a season in which the Packers also asked him to play both left guard and right tackle. He also served as the team’s starting center in Week 9’s game against the Detroit Lions last season, filling in for regular starter Josh Myers after he injured his wrist.
Given expectations are the Packers will not re-sign Myers to a new contract, their best option might be taking advantage of Jenkins’ versatility and moving him to center.
Demovsky also suggested the Packers could consider guard Sean Rhyan — a 2022 third-round pick — for a move inside to center, but it would still leave a traffic jam at guard with Jenkins, Banks and Morgan — the No. 25 pick in 2024 — all projected as starters. Keeping Rhyan as a backup guard with emergency utility at center may suit them best.
Will Packers Regret Signing Big Contract With Banks?
The Packers agreed to make a significant — and surprising — investment in Banks on the first day of free-agent negotiations, but there are reasons to question whether it will work out for them considering Banks’ health and the high price of his agreed-upon deal.
Banks will become the NFL’s seventh-highest-paid guard when he puts pen to paper on his four-year contract with the Packers. His $19.25 million in per-year value will rank him fourth among left guards in the league behind only Ben Bredeson ($22 million), Landon Dickerson ($21 million) and Quenton Nelson ($20 million), per Over the Cap.
That’s a significant investment for the Packers, even more so when taking into account that Jenkins — a two-time Pro Bowler — makes less than him at $17 million annually.
The other concern is whether Banks will stay healthy. He missed two games with a concussion he sustained against the Packers during the 2024 season, then went down with a season-ending MCL injury in Week 16’s game against the Miami Dolphins. He also missed two games in 2023 with turf toe, bringing him to six absences in two years.
The Packers should be able to put their minds at ease about Banks’ health when he has his physical before signing his deal, but they should be cautious about his durability.
