Getty Aaron Jones #33 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates a first down against the Carolina Panthers during the third quarter in the game at Lambeau Field on November 10, 2019 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
For the second time in seven months, the Green Bay Packers are considering the possibility of signing Aaron Jones’ twin brother, Alvin, to their roster.
The unsigned Jones was among three veteran players present Friday for the start of the Packers’ offseason rookie minicamp, working out on a tryout basis with the defensive coaches and hoping to stake his claim to the final open spot on Green Bay’s 90-man offseason roster. The other two tryouts were both quarterbacks: Kurt Benkert and Chad Kelly.
Jones had previously auditioned for a place with the Packers last October while former starting inside linebacker Christian Kirksey was on injured reserve, but he left without a contract. His time in the NFL has been limited to two preseasons with the Baltimore Ravens in 2018 and ’19,
The rookie camp roster
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Jones Could Boost Competition at ILB
Inside linebacker is unquestionably one of the biggest uncertainties about the Packers’ roster following the 2021 NFL draft. While the Packers used a sixth-round pick on Boston College linebacker Isaiah McDuffie, they cut Kirksey earlier this offseason and are currently projecting a pair of second-year players — Krys Barnes and Kamal Martin — to lead the position group. Even the Packers have admitted that isn’t the best spot to be.
“Inside ‘backer was one of those things obviously we were hoping to address maybe earlier in the draft; Just didn’t happen to fall that way for us,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said in his post-draft press conference on May 1. “So as we move forward, and I’ve talked about roster-building being 365 days of the year, we’ll continue to look at (potential additions). I do like a lot of the young players we have in that room and am expecting those guys to take big jumps.”
The Packers also return 2019 seventh-rounder Ty Summers and 2020 practice-squad holdover De’Jon Harris, but that still only leaves them with six inside linebackers as they prepare for OTAs. One of them is also Oren Burks, a 2018 third-round pick who has played more than 75% of his career snaps on special teams and seldom cracks the rotation even when Green Bay is desperate.
Adding Jones would at least give them another suitable contender for a depth spot, and it wouldn’t prohibit them from exploring trade or free-agent opportunities with a veteran if the right one presented itself in the coming months.
Veteran ILBs Remain on Free-Agent Market
The NFL’s linebacker market has most dried up in the two months since the start of unrestricted free agency. Top-of-the-market talents such as Lavonte David, Matt Milano and Jaylon Brown all re-signed with their 2020 teams, while the Carolina Panthers scooped up Denzel Perryman on a two-year discount deal worth just $6 million. Still, there might be a veteran or two who could still interest the Packers if they feel more experience is necessary.
If experience and familiarity interest the Packers, former linebacker B.J. Goodson remains unsigned and wouldn’t cost much to bring in for another short stint. The Packers originally acquired Goodson before the start of the 2019 season in a trade with the New York Giants and used him on less than a quarter of defensive snaps, but he is coming off a stronger year with Cleveland that saw him start 14 games and make a career-high 91 tackles.
The Packers could also go in a new direction and look into signing 29-year-old Avery Williamson, who split his time between New York and Pittsburgh last year after the Jets dealt him and a seventh-round pick away for the Steelers’ fifth-rounder in 2022. Despite moving around, Williamson bounced back strong from a 2019 ACL injury and recorded 111 tackles across 15 games.