The door appears open for one of the Green Bay Packers‘ rookie draft picks to steal a starting job away from one of their highest-priced veteran players.
The Packers entered their 2026 training camp with several starting jobs up for grabs, but one of the most unexpected competitions that has emerged is the one taking place at left guard — where fifth-round rookie Jager Burton has been making a strong push.
Burton has spent ample time working with the Packers’ first-team offense over the past few weeks of camp while veteran Aaron Banks — who signed a four-year, $77 million contract with the team in March 2025 — has been sidelined with a nagging knee injury.
Banks spent only a few days on the active/physically unable to perform (PUP) list for the Packers to begin camp, but he has yet to participate in 11-on-11 drills during any of their practices over the past three weeks, leaving Burton to fill his shoes unexpectedly.
And after the first preseason game, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur can’t guarantee that Banks will find his starting left guard job waiting for him when he returns to play.
“I think [Burton’s] gonna make it extremely difficult,” LaFleur said Friday when asked if Banks will retain his starting job when he returns. “I think Jager has done a really good job. Not only him but [Jacob] Monk. [Banks] hasn’t been out, so it’s hard to say.”
Jager Burton Gained Little Ground in Preseason Opener
Burton has impressed the Packers as their fill-in left guard over the first few weeks of camp, but his performance in their preseason opener was nothing to write home about.
According to Pro Football Focus, Burton earned the third-lowest offensive grade (51.3) among those who played in the 28-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he did not play as poorly as his grade indicates, allowing two pressures, including a hit, on 36 snaps.
Overall, Burton’s performance against the Steelers landed somewhere in the range of fine, but he will need to do better in the next two exhibition games if he wants to lock down the starting left guard role. Practice can only take someone so far; although, it is possible the starting job will come gift-wrapped if Banks remains out with his injury.
Packers Dodge Question on Possible Aaron Banks Surgery
LaFleur didn’t have much to say about Banks when asked during Friday’s availability.
What LaFleur specifically declined to talk about was fairly interesting, though.
Right after seemingly opening the door for Burton to take the starting left guard job, LaFleur received a question about whether Banks — who spoke positively about his health in the spring — had a procedure between the end of OTAs and the start of camp that has contributed to the knee injury that has kept him out for most of the summer.
LaFleur could have answered with a simple yes or no. Instead, he deferred to Banks.
“I’ll let him answer that,” LaFleur said flatly.
Now, LaFleur’s deferral could simply be a head coach respecting his player’s privacy to discuss their health on their own terms, but the team has been generally forthcoming about its players undergoing surgeries in the past. Perhaps Banks underwent a surgery that the team did not approve, creating some dissatisfied friction between the two sides.
The Packers would have a good reason to be unhappy if Banks — the fourth-highest-paid player on their roster — went rogue against their medical advice. But until Banks returns to answer for himself, the mystery of a potential surgery could stay unsolved.
Packers $77 Million Starter in Danger of Losing Job to Rookie