Tony Banks (American football)

Tony Banks

Banks with the Louisville Kings in 2026
Louisville Kings
Title	Wide receivers coach
Personal information
Born	(1973-04-05) April 5, 1973 San Diego, California, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight	229 lb (104 kg)
Career information
Position	Quarterback (No. 12)
High school	Hoover (San Diego)
College	San Diego Mesa (1992–1993) Michigan State (1994–1995)
NFL draft	1996: 2nd round, 42nd overall pick
Career history
Playing
St. Louis Rams (1996–1998) Baltimore Ravens (1999–2000) Dallas Cowboys (2001)* Washington Redskins (2001) Houston Texans (2002–2005)
* Offseason or practice squad member only
Coaching
Louisville Kings (2026–present) Wide receivers coach
Awards and highlights
Super Bowl champion (XXXV) UFL champion (2026) PFWA All-Rookie Team (1996) Second-team All-Big Ten (1995)
Career NFL statistics
Passing attempts 2,356 Passing completions 1,278 Completion percentage 54.2 TD–INT 77–73 Passing yards 15,315 Passer rating 72.4 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Anthony Lamar Banks (born April 5, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is currently the wide receivers coach for the Louisville Kings of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans. Selected by the St. Louis Rams in the second round of the 1996 NFL draft, Banks also was a member of the Baltimore Ravens, Washington Redskins, and Houston Texans. With the Ravens, he was part of the team that won the franchise's first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXV.

Early life

Banks attended Hoover High School in San Diego, California, and was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball.

College career

Banks played right field for the Minnesota Twins' Class A team in Ft. Myers, Florida, before enrolling at San Diego Mesa College in San Diego. He played there two years before transferring to Michigan State University. Banks places among the all-time record holders at Michigan State. He ranks sixth in passing completion percentage, tenth in career passing yards, and tenth in passing touchdowns. Banks was the first quarterback selected in the 1996 NFL draft.

In the October 2010 issue of Sports Illustrated, former NFL agent Josh Luchs claimed he paid Banks 'several hundred dollars a month' while Banks was at Michigan State, a violation of NCAA eligibility rules.

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle
6 ft 4+1⁄2 in (1.94 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	33+1⁄8 in (0.84 m)	9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m)	4.93 s	1.68 s	2.86 s	4.55 s

St. Louis Rams

Banks was selected in the second round of the 1996 NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams as the first quarterback selected in that year's draft. He soon found himself the starter as a rookie. Banks recorded significant yardage and touchdowns but also ended up setting a record for fumbles that first season, with 21. The team finished with a 6–10 record. Throughout the next two seasons Banks's play failed to improve significantly as the Rams finished last in their division with records of 5–11 and 4–12. During his time in St. Louis he developed a reputation for having a cocky attitude and a poor work ethic. After a 14–0 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 7 of 1998 he skipped the team flight back to St. Louis and did not appear at practice the next day. After three seasons with the Rams, the team signed Trent Green and then traded Banks to the Ravens for a fifth and seventh round draft pick.

Baltimore Ravens

Banks accumulated the best statistics of his career with the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens started Scott Mitchell and Stoney Case early in 1999, but neither worked out, so the team turned to Banks. In 1999, he threw a career-high 17 TDs next to only eight interceptions. He also mustered 2,136 passing yards. Banks played well in early 2000, but his fumbles and interceptions cost the team two games in October. Feeling the offense needed a spark after failing to score a touchdown over an entire month, the team replaced him with backup Trent Dilfer, who would remain the starter through the team's Super Bowl XXXV win. He finished 2000 with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions and was released in the off-season.

Dallas Cowboys

Leading into the 2001 season, Banks was signed by the Dallas Cowboys to replace the recently released and later retired Troy Aikman; however, on August 15, 2001, Banks was abruptly released by the Cowboys who chose instead to go with rookie Quincy Carter.

Washington Redskins

Later that year, Banks signed with Washington during Marty Schottenheimer's one-year tenure as head coach. While with the Redskins, he became the first quarterback to follow an 0–5 start with five straight wins. He was released after the season.

Houston Texans

Banks signed with the Houston Texans. He was the second-string quarterback for the Houston Texans behind David Carr. He claims that he was asked by Houston's coaches not to play too well in practice to ensure that he would not upstage David Carr, who the team had drafted first overall in the 2002 NFL draft. During his four-year tenure with the team, Banks received minimal playing time. On February 28, 2006, Banks was released by the Texans. He never returned to the NFL.

Career statistics

NFL

Legend
	Won the Super Bowl
Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	Games			Passing								Rushing				Sacks		Fumbles
		GP	GS	Record	Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Avg	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	Sck	Yds	Fum	Lost
1996	STL	14	13	5–8	192	368	52.2	2,544	6.9	15	15	71.0	61	212	3.5	0	48	306	21	11
1997	STL	16	16	5–11	252	487	51.7	3,254	6.7	14	13	71.5	47	186	4.0	1	43	317	15	7
1998	STL	14	14	4–10	241	408	59.1	2,535	6.2	7	14	68.6	40	156	3.9	3	41	237	10	3
1999	BAL	12	10	6–4	169	320	52.8	2,136	6.7	17	8	81.2	24	93	3.9	0	33	190	11	6
2000	BAL	11	8	5–3	150	274	54.7	1,578	5.8	8	8	69.3	19	57	3.0	0	20	152	5	0
2001	WAS	15	14	8–6	198	370	53.5	2,386	6.4	10	10	71.3	47	152	3.2	2	29	173	10	2
2002	HOU	0	0	DNP
2003	HOU	7	3	2–1	61	102	59.8	693	6.8	5	3	84.3	6	27	4.5	0	13	57	1	0
2004	HOU	5	0	—	1	2	50.0	16	8.0	0	0	77.1	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
2005	HOU	2	0	—	14	25	56.0	173	6.9	1	2	57.6	2	−2	−1.0	0	0	0	0	0
Career		96	78	35–43	1,278	2,356	54.2	15,315	6.5	77	73	72.4	246	881	3.6	6	227	1,432	73	29

Postseason

Year	Team	Games			Passing								Rushing				Sacks		Fumbles
		GP	GS	Record	Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Avg	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	Sck	Yds	Fum	Lost
2000	BAL	3	0	—	0	3	0.0	0	0.0	0	0	39.6	1	−1	−1.0	0	0	0	0	0
Career		3	0	0–0	0	3	0.0	0	0.0	0	0	39.6	1	-1	-1.0	0	0	0	0	0

College

Season	Team	GP	Passing
			Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	Int	Rtg
1994	Michigan State	11	145	238	60.9	2,040	11	6	143.1
1995	Michigan State	9	156	258	60.5	2,089	9	15	128.4
Career		20	301	496	60.7	4,129	20	21	135.5

Coaching career

On March 9, 2020, the Greenhill School, a private K-12 school in Addison, Texas, announced that they were hiring Banks as their head football coach. He had previously served the school as an assistant coach.

Banks has been the wide receivers coach with the Louisville Kings since the 2026 season. He is one of five members of the Super Bowl XXXV Champion Ravens on the ballclub's coaching staff along with Chris Redman, Jamie Sharper, Chris McAlister and Brad Jackson.

External links

• Career statistics from NFL.com · ESPN · Yahoo Sports · Pro Football Reference

• Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)