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.

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

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.

[4] 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.

[4][5] 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.

The Ravens started Scott Mitchell and Stoney Case early in 1999, but neither worked out, so the team turned to Banks.

Later that year, Banks signed with the Washington Redskins during Marty Schottenheimer's one-year tenure as head coach.