The Green Bay Packers already have one of the best running backs in the NFL, but unfortunately he’s playing on one of the least favorable contracts.
Aaron Jones sacrificed $5 million ahead of the 2023 campaigns to remain a member of the Packers, per Pro Football Talk. And though his production was minimal-to-moderate for much of the regular season, largely due to multiple injuries, Jones turned it on down the stretch. He has produced four consecutive contests of at least 110 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys during Super Wild Card Weekend to help Green Bay win its first playoff game of the Jordan Love era.
Jones’ history as a player and a person with the Packers organization has been immaculate. That said, adding to that legacy in 2024 is going to cost the franchise a pretty penny. Instead of paying up to hold onto Jones, Green Bay could choose perhaps an even more viable path to success and get in the game for four-time Pro Bowler Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans.
Henry essentially said his goodbyes to Tennessee fans following the team’s regular season finale in Week 18, but he’s not ready to bid farewell to the NFL. Henry made his position in that regard clear on the January 17 edition of the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast.
“I want to win a Super Bowl,” Henry said. “I ain’t done playing, I ain’t even close to done playing.”
Derrick Henry Can Offer Packers Pro-Bowl Play at Discount Deal
GettyRunning back Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans
Henry is a potentially problematic addition, whether as a standalone signing or as a replacement for Jones, because of his age and usage history. The eight-year NFL veteran just turned 30 years old, which has functioned as an age at which teams begin to devalue a running back because of the assumed amount of tread on his tires combined with the violent nature of the position.
Franchises interested in Henry won’t have to assume anything about the amount of work Tennessee heaped upon his shoulders over the last five years. He led the league with 280 carries in 2023, the fourth time in last half decade Henry has rushed the ball more than any other running back in the NFL. The only season he didn’t was in 2021, when he missed half the year due to injuries.
Despite the workload, Henry has been elite. He rushed for 1,167 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, per Pro Football Reference, earning Pro-Bowl honors for the fourth time in the last five seasons. He has tallied 9,502 yards and 90 TDs on the ground over the course of his career and has also made 155 receptions for 1,458 receiving yards and 3 TDs.
Henry played the final season of his four-year, $50 million contract with the Titans in 2023. Spotrac projects his current market value at $4.3 million on a one-year deal in 2024.
Aaron Jones, AJ Dillon Could Both Be Out in Green Bay in 2024
GettyRunning back Aaron Jones of the Green Bay Packers.
While cap analysts are predicting Henry to play for somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 million next season, Jones is scheduled to earn $12 million in yearly cash ($11.1 million in salary) on the final season of a four-year, $48 million contract. His salary cap hit is even worse than that at $17.575 million.
Meanwhile, Spotrac projects Jones’ current market value at $5.1 million annually, suggesting just a one-year deal if he were to sign elsewhere following a decision by the Packers to cut him over the summer.
Doing so might cause an outcry from the Green Bay faithful, but it may also be the prudent financial decision. The team can save more than $11.1 million by cutting or trading Jones after June 1.
Meanwhile, backup running back AJ Dillon is headed to free agency after putting up his least productive season since his rookie year, which means he could also be out of Green Bay come free agency in March.
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Packers Destination for $50 Million, 4-Time Pro Bowl Running Back