Getty Running back Aaron Jones of the Green Bay Packers.
It is truly a new era of Green Bay Packers football, as tentpole stars David Bakhtiari and Aaron Jones are no longer members of the franchise.
Green Bay announced the release of both men from the roster on Monday, March 11 — the first day of the NFL‘s legal tampering period. Each player took to social media in the aftermath to address their situations and offer their respect to one another as teammates who played together for the past seven years.
Gutted to see the news @Showtyme_33. Keep your head up. You are a savage and consummate pro. Did it the right way. You’ll land on your feet.
“Gutted to see the news @Showtyme_33,” Bakhtiari posted to X, accompanied by a GIF of the “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery” character Dr. Evil weeping — in typical fashion for the left tackle whose online brand has come to represent a genuine mix of sincerity and levity. “Keep your head up. You are a savage and a consummate pro. Did it the right way. You’ll land on your feet.”
Jones responded soon after with an X post of his own.
@DavidBakhtiari We always do love you bro! 📈
It was a hell of a ride with you 🤞🏾💯
“We always do, love you bro! 📈” Jones responded. “It was a hell of a ride with you 🤞 💯.”
Bakhtiari then added one more comment on the thread.
“Lemme [know] if you need anymore blocks 70 yards down the field,” he wrote.”I got this new tire I’m excited to try out. ;)”
Former Packers RB Ryan Grant Blasts Green Bay, NFL Over Concepts of Loyalty Following Aaron Jones’ Release
GettyFormer Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones will play for a new team in 2024.
Green Bay wasted literally almost no time replacing Jones with former Las Vegas Raiders All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs.
The Packers signed Jacobs to the exact deal they gave Jones in March 2021 — four years and $48 million total — before cutting Jones one year shy of that contract’s natural completion in the interest of saving $11.9 million against the salary cap in 2024 (assuming they wait to officially cut Jones until Wednesday and designate him as a post-June 1 release).
Jones also agreed to a $5 million pay cut last season to remain in Green Bay, which former Packers running back Ryan Grant noted on Monday when calling out the Packers and the general notion of player loyalty that NFL fans expect, but which teams often fail to honor.
“Once again, believing that loyalty is a thing that exists in the NFL is absurd lol. Just nonsensical,” Grant wrote. “Taking hometown discounts and all that [is] silly. This young man (Jones) is arguably the best RB to ever play for this organization. Does that matter? Nope.”
Jones finishes his career in Green Bay as the franchise’s third leading rusher all-time with 5,940 yards. He also amassed 45 rushing TDs (fourth all-time in Packers history) along with 272 career receptions for 2,076 receiving yards and 18 TDs through the air, per Pro Football Reference.
Aaron Jones, David Bakhtiari Could Land With Packers’ Rivals Next Season
GettyFormer Green Bay Packers stars David Bakhtiari (left) and Aaron Rodgers (right) could reunite with the New York Jets next season.
Bakhtiari, 32, was also magnificent for the Packers when healthy over his 11-year run in Green Bay, earning All-Pro honors on five occasions.
However, similarly to Jones’ case, it was injury accumulation and overall cost/savings potential that led the team to release its long-time starting left tackle Monday. The Packers saved nearly $21 million by cutting Bakhtiari, which makes the cap savings ceiling between he and Jones nearly $33 million in 2024.
No concrete reporting is yet available on where Bakhtiari and Jones might land as they become free agents, though there are reasonable guesses ready to be made.
Bakhtiari is great friends with former Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, who will start for the New York Jets next season. The Jets have issues on the offensive line and Bakhtiari will probably come relatively cheap, making a reunion with Rodgers a likely potential outcome.
Meanwhile, Jones is from Texas and grew up rooting for the Dallas Cowboys. He has absolutely torched ‘America’s Team’ throughout his entire NFL career, including during a playoff rout over Super Wildcard Weekend in January.
Former Cowboys running back Tony Pollard agreed in principle to a contract with the Tennessee Titans on Monday, leaving Dallas in need of a starter. Jones makes sense there, which could allow him a chance to exact some revenge on Green Bay down the line, as both teams present as playoff contenders in 2024.
The Jets aren’t so much traditional rivals of the Packers, however Rodgers’ presence in New York creates something of a theoretical rivalry, and Bakhtiari is at least potentially poised to switch sides now that he is on the market.