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Packers-Vikings Inactives: Incredibly Young Interior OL Without Aaron Banks

The Green Bay Packers have one big-money starter inactive for Sunday’s game at the Vikings.
Bill Huber|
Left guard Aaron Banks is inactive for the Packers.
Left guard Aaron Banks is inactive for the Packers. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Green Bay Packers

MINNEAPOLIS – Aaron Banks, the Green Bay Packers’ $77 million starting left guard, is inactive for Sunday’s season-opening game at the Minnesota Vikings.

Donovan Jennings will start; he was supposed to have started the Week 18 game at Minnesota last season but instead suffered a throat injury at practice that week and was inactive. Jennings, an undrafted free agent in 2024, has played six snaps from scrimmage in his career – all at the end of last year’s loss to Baltimore.

Banks was limited participation all week due to knee tendinitis.

“I don’t know,” Banks said this week when asked if he’d start. “It’ll probably be a game-time decision.”

That Banks practiced all week led to optimism that he’d play.

“We’ll all collectively talk and talk to him as well and see where he feels physically,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Friday. “But I’d say the fact that he’s out there is a good sign.”

Not a good enough sign, even though Banks was on the practice field throughout the second half of training camp, though often with limited reps.

“Yeah, I don’t think anybody’s more frustrated than I am,” Banks said. “But like that does it no justice, no good, right? To be frustrated and angry all the time doesn’t do any good. So, throughout this whole process, I’ve been doing everything I can to get as many reps as I can and get as healthy as I can, and then just trying to help the guys. That’s just my main thing.

“So … going with the stride. You know what I mean? Like taking it stride for stride and just for myself, trying to get better and get reps and get healthy, and then for the group, doing everything I can to make sure this group is as good as we can be.”

So, there will be a new left guard, with the decision to go with Jennings, who has some experience, over rookie Jager Burton, who has none. Perhaps there will be a rotation at some point.

At least the rest of the starting offensive line is active. That includes left tackle Jordan Morgan and right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele, both of whom were on the injury report due to knee injuries. Bako-Bewele was questionable on the final injury report after being limited participation all three days. Morgan was limited participation on Wednesday, full participation on Thursday and Friday, and not on the final injury report.

Green Bay’s interior line of Sean Rhyan (eight starts, including playoffs), Monk (one start) and Jennings (zero starts) is incredibly inexperienced.

Packers Inactives

Green Bay’s other inactives are linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper, guard/tackle Travis Glover, receiver J. Michael Sturdivant and defensive tackles Warren Brinson and Anthony Campbell.

Hopper didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday due to an Achilles injury. That the Packers elevated Kristian Welch from the practice squad on Saturday was a sign this is the direction the team would go.

Without Brinson (calf) and Campbell (healthy scratch), Green Bay will go with Devonte Wyatt, Javon Hargrave, Jonathan Ford, Karl Brooks and rookie Chris McClellan at defensive tackle.

Glover and Sturdivant are healthy scratches.

The Packers released Bo Melton on Friday and did not fill his spot on the roster, so the Packers have only six inactives. Melton was added to the practice squad Friday and elevated to the roster with Welch for the game.

Vikings Inactives

Minnesota’s inactives are led by J.J. McCarthy, who will serve as the third quarterback behind Kyler Murray and Carso Wentz.

Minnesota’s other inactives are all deep backups: cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn, safety Jakobe Thomas, running back Demond Clairborne, offensive linemen Nick Samac and Caleb Tiernan and defensive tackle Elijah Williams.

Two recently added veterans, safety Harrison Smith and outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy, are active for the Vikings.

The 37-year-old Smith, who is entering his 15th season, had two interceptions in 15 games for the Vikings last year. Van Noy, 35, had 12.5 sacks for the Ravens in 2024 but only two in 2025.

“He's been exactly what you think when you're bringing a veteran guy that has had the type of career that he's had,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said of Van Noy. “He's got, obviously, some background with ‘Flo’ [defensive coordinator Brian Flores] understanding the system, and then the coolest thing has just been watching him come in and see the differences and learn those nuances and changes and be able to really be a piece for us on either side when his number gets called. I'm very fortunate and excited to have Kyle here.”

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.