The Green Bay Packers are looking outside the organization for help at linebacker after losing one of their top defensive playmakers.
Green Bay worked out veteran linebacker Deion Jones on Tuesday, according to the NFL transaction wire.
Jones was one of four free agents brought in, joining linebacker Chris Paul Jr. and cornerbacks Cobee Bryant and Dwight McGlothern. No signing was announced following the workout.
The workout comes following Edgerrin Cooper suffering a season-ending Achilles injury in the Packers’ 17-14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Green Bay officially placed Cooper on injured reserve Tuesday and promoted Kristian Welch from the practice squad.
Jones, 31, has more NFL experience than the other players Green Bay evaluated. The former Pro Bowler has appeared in 128 regular-season games with 91 starts, floating a veteran possibility to the Packers while they alter the position without Cooper.
Jones Once Landed $57 Million Deal With Falcons
Jones’ past gives the workout some extra gravity.
The Atlanta Falcons selected Jones with the No. 52 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, and he quickly became one of the league’s more productive coverage linebackers. He recorded 108 tackles and three interceptions as a rookie, returning two of those picks for touchdowns, before earning his lone Pro Bowl selection in 2017.
Atlanta rewarded him before the 2019 season with a four-year, $57 million extension that included $34 million guaranteed, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Jones played six seasons for the Falcons before being traded to the Cleveland Browns in 2022. He later spent time with the Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills and Buccaneers. Jones appeared in all 17 games for Tampa Bay in 2025 and finished with 29 tackles.
His 2026 offseason was unusually busy. Jones signed with the New Orleans Saints in August before the San Francisco 49ers acquired him for running back Zamir White on Aug. 25. San Francisco released Jones just five days later during final roster cuts.
The 49ers credited Jones with 746 tackles, 53 passes defensed, 13 interceptions and 12 sacks over his NFL career at the time of the trade.
There’s also some organizational cognizance. Packers coach Matt LaFleur served as Atlanta’s quarterbacks coach from 2015-16, putting him on the Falcons’ staff during Jones’ rookie campaign and the team’s run to Super Bowl LI.
Packers Suddenly Have Need at Linebacker
Green Bay’s interest in Jones comes at a logical time.
Cooper had emerged as one of the Packers’ most disruptive defenders before the Achilles injury. He collected nine tackles, a sack and an interception against Tampa Bay before exiting. Through a little more than seven halves this season, Cooper had already produced 30 tackles, three sacks and an interception.
“He’s a tough one to lose,” LaFleur said Monday, via Packers.com. “My heart hurts for him.”
Isaiah McDuffie and Ty’Ron Hopper are among the internal options to absorb Cooper’s snaps, while Zaire Franklin gives Green Bay another experienced presence in the middle. Packers.com identified McDuffie and Hopper as the next linebackers up following Cooper’s injury.
Jones wouldn’t be a direct replacement for everything Cooper provides, and the Packers have yet to sign him. Still, Tuesday’s workout shows Green Bay is surveying outside of the squad quickly after its linebacker room took a big-time hit.
In the end, a 31-year-old former Pro Bowler with 91 career starts and a $57 million contract would serve as the most accomplished name from the Packers’ latest group of tryouts.
Packers Bring in Former $57 Million Pro Bowler After Losing Edgerrin Cooper