Getty The Packers appear to have drawn a line in the sand with Aaron Jones ahead of free agency.
The Green Bay Packers met with star running back Aaron Jones‘ agents during the 2024 NFL Combine in Indianapolis, trying to rework his contract to lower his cap number, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinal report.
Jones, 29, is set to count $11 million against the cap this, a figure that the Packers would love to lower significantly, especially with a massive contract extension likely in the offing for quarterback Jordan Love this offseason.
According to Tom Silverstein, “If the two can’t reach agreement in the next two weeks, the Packers would release him and then hope whatever they are offering isn’t matched on the open market. If it wasn’t, they’d have a chance at re-signing him at their price.”
Should the Packers release Jones before the new league year begins, and designate him as a June 1 cut, Green Bay would create $11.85 million in new cap space for the 2024 season while triggering a $5.71 million dead money charge.
Jones is set to count $17.5 million against the cap this upcoming season, including collecting an $11 million base salary in the final year of a four-year contract signed with the Packers back in 2021.
Why the Packers Could Play hard Ball with Aaron Jones
General manager Brian Gutekunst and the Packers hold some leverage over Jones, especially given a robust crop of free agent running backs that Jones would be joining if Green Bay releases him.
Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, Tony Pollard, Austin Ekeler, and D’Andre Swift add serious star power to this year’s free-agent running backs. It remains to be seen if Jones would command one of the top contracts on the open market, especially following a season in which he dealt with hamstring and knee injuries.
Meanwhile, even after the salary cap jumped to $255.4 million this offseason, the Packers only have approximately $12.7 million in cap space.
As Spotrac points out, Jones’ market value is substantially lower than his current deal, with his projected contract being a one-year contract worth $5.1 million.
Green Bay seems to have leverage in these negotiations, and would likely prefer to allocate a sizable amount of Jones’ current cap space to more premium positions on the roster.
Cap Increase Offers Packers’ Some Breathing Room
The Packers are one of the biggest benefactors of the salary cap increasing, which could allow Gutekunst to be a little more aggressive once free agency gets underway.
“It gives us some more flexibility,” Gutekunst told reporters at the NFL Combine, when asked about the higher salary cap. “But I think it’s really about the decisions we make from here on our and trying to stay flexible as we move forward over the next few years I think. But it certainly gives us a little bit more breathing room.
“Like I said before going into it, there wasn’t going to be anything that prevented us from going after players or doing what we wanted to do, and this kind of cements that.”
Green Bay aims to take major steps in 2024, off returning to the NFL Playoffs last season and advancing to the NFC Divisional Playoffs, with Love offering plenty of optimism about the Packers’ future.