Former 49ers starting lineman already looks like a flop with Packers

It's amazing how much money the San Francisco 49ers avoided spending during the offseason by making some tough decisions to part ways with several notable starters and role players entering 2025.

Illustrating the point, made by Niner Noise's Luke Morris, "free agents who were on the San Francisco roster a season ago signed deals elsewhere that could be worth up to $341,522,500. Meanwhile, the 10 players the Niners signed that week inked deals worth up to $41,880,000. That $299,642,500 added up to the largest free-agent spending deficit in NFL history by almost $100 million."

A massive chunk of that non-spend came by the way of now-Green Bay Packers left guard Aaron Banks.

Banks, whom San Francisco selected in Round 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft, inked a four-year, $77 million free-agent deal during the offseason; an effort to reinforce Green Bay's offensive line and provide some thump to head coach Matt LaFleur's offense.

So far, it's been an absolute whiff of a signing by the Packers.

Aaron Banks is off to a terrible start after Packers spend big bucks on him

Banks has already been banged up this season, missing Week 2, and he's already on the injury report with a groin issue ahead of Green Bay's high-profile Week 4 showdown with the Denver Broncos:

Compounding the problem, Banks hasn't exactly been effective when he's been available either.

According to Pro Football Focus, his awfully low 38.3 overall grade ranks 73rd out of 76 qualifying guards on the season, and one doesn't have to look long on Twitter to find both fans and analysts complaining about the lack of positive impact.

The 49ers, meanwhile, have to be chuckling a bit about Green Bay's overspend.

True, the Niners had to identify a replacement, and it's yet to be determined if either veteran Ben Bartch or rookie Connor Colby is the best option in Banks' wake. But, at least for the value, San Francisco has to be thrilled and the end result thus far.

There's still plenty of time for Banks to turn things around and begin justifying his hefty free-agent contract with the Packers.

So far, though, the early results have been nothing short of awful.