Aaron Jones joined the Minnesota Vikings this offseason, and now the former Green Bay Packers running back is about to return to Lambeau Field for the first time.
Much like personal relationships, those between fans of a team and that team’s star players can sour quickly once one side (or both) decides to move on. The same is often true between the player and the franchise. That isn’t the case for Jones, however.
Jones, who is generally affable and good-natured in his dealings with the media and his comments about teammates and opponents, held true to form on Wednesday, September 25, when he released a heartfelt letter of appreciation to Packers fans and the team.
Published by “The Players Tribune,” the letter expressed Jones’ gratitude for his seven years in Green Bay and all of those who were associated with it — including fans, teammates and members of the organization.
“It wasn’t just my teammates who made me feel seen in Green Bay — it was our fans, too,” Jones wrote. “Especially in those first few years when I was trying to make my name in the league. I think people started to notice that good things would happen when I had the ball, and they wanted me to be more involved. So they started tweeting with the hashtag #FREEAARONJONES. I know it’s just a hashtag, but I won’t lie, that was cool. Every time I saw it in my mentions, it reassured me I wasn’t going unnoticed. Our fans understood how hard I was working to make things happen, and I fed off of that.”
Aaron Jones Central Part of Elite 7-Year Run for Packers
GettyFormer Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones.
Jones finished his time in Green Bay with nearly 6,000 rushing yards, almost 2,100 receiving yards and 63 total TDs, per Pro Football Reference. He appeared in 97 regular-season games over that span and started 85 of them.
The running back was part of four playoff teams, including back-to-back groups that played in the NFC Championship Game following the 2019 and 2020 campaigns. Jones led the league in rushing touchdowns with 16 scores in 2019 and earned Pro Bowl honors in 2020.
He also took a $5 million pay cut in February 2023 to remain with the Packers after inking a four-year extension worth $48 million in March 2021. His professional relationship with the organization ended last offseason when he opted not to accept another pay reduction.
Jones inked a one-year contract in Minnesota for $7 million this offseason and has been exceptional for the Vikings (3-0) ever since, racking up a total of 325 yards from scrimmage and 2 TDs over his first three games.
Aaron Jones Loves Packers, but Wants to Lambeau Leap as Vikings RB
GettyFormer Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones.
But even despite how the split up went down, Jones said Wednesday that he has nothing but love for the Packers organization.
I’m also very grateful for the Packers organization, and the way they had faith in me as a person.
One of the biggest mistakes I ever made was as a rookie: I got cited for driving with marijuana in my system and suspended by the league for the start of my second year. I was so embarrassed after it happened. They say you represent the G at all times, and I hadn’t held up my part of that. I felt like I’d let everyone down who gave me a chance as a fifth-round pick — and for a guy like me who wasn’t established yet, a lot of teams might’ve said, “Let’s just cut him.”
It definitely could have gone either way … but the Packers had my back. Their mentality was, “This mistake isn’t you. It’s only you if you don’t learn from it.” They made sure I walked around our building with my head held high, even when I was feeling really low.
However, as much as Jones respects Green Bay, its fans and his time there, he still has a little something for the Packers if he scores a touchdown on Sunday — the familiar Lambeau leap celebration.
“If you’re not thinking about the end zone, you thinking about the wrong thing,” Jones said during a press conference Wednesday. “I’m definitely leaping up there. … Hopefully there’s a Vikings fan in one of [the end zones] so I can jump up to them.”
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Vikings RB Aaron Jones Pens Heartfelt Message to Packers Ahead of Return