Getty Aaron Jones (right) of the Packers
It has not been an easy year for Packers running back Aaron Jones. He has had some highlights, going back to his Week 1 performance against the Bears and, more recently, in his Week 16 showing against the Panthers, in which he tallied a season-high 127 yards. But in between, he has struggled with a knee injury that has limited him to nine mostly ineffective games.
He opened the season as, arguably, the most important Packers player on offense. He will close it, though, as a serious question mark and, possibly, playing his final games in Green Bay. That’s the possibility raised by the NFL contract experts at Spotrac, who have Jones on the “roster bubble” for 2024.
As writer Mike Ginnitti put it, “A knee injury diverted an already low-producing 2023, putting Aaron Jones and his $17.7M cap hit on notice this winter. A Pre-June 1 release frees up $5.3M, while the Packers can open up $12M if they push this past June 1st.”
And on the Spotrac podcast, the prediction was even more ominous for Jones, as though the Packers have all but made the decision already
“Aaron Jones from Green Bay it does seem like that’s a foregone conclusion.”
Aaron Jones Acknowledged 2023 Struggles
That would be a sad outcome for a player who has been a star in Green Bay since his arrival as a fifth-round pick in 2017. Jones, among the fastest backs in the league, has three 1,000-yard seasons to his credit, including 1,121 yards last season. He was a Pro Bowler in 2020 and scored a league-high 16 touchdowns in 2019.
But Jones, as we have seen over and over in the NFL, turned 29 this year and his production has dropped off. He has 425 yards and two touchdowns to his credit this season. He is averaging 4.3 yards per carry, which is not bad, but the fewest of his career.
“I gotta remember the tough times don’t last forever but it is about the process,” Jones said this month. “It’s about these guys in this locker room. I may not be out there having the year that I want to have or be on the field how I want to be, but it is still about how can I come in here and impact the guys and lead these guys and make sure that they’re ready to play. So my part and be able to provide that spark and be a boost to them.”
Packers Roster Could Take Serious Hits
Next year will be the final year of a four-year, $48 million contract Jones signed in 2021. The Packers have redone the deal so that the biggest hit comes next year, and could open the way to his departure. The team is up against the salary cap but can create some room to improve by moving on from players like Jones and star tackle David Bakhtiari.
But Ginnitti said the Packers could be very aggressive in cutting players, especially on the defensive side of the ball, if they truly want to remake the roster.
“I’ve got eight or nine Packers on this list, which scares me because I am not sure the Packers are in a position where they want to rip everything off with Jordan Love and everything. But, they could,” Ginnitti said. “They could easily move eight or nine really prominent names off this roster next year and I don’t know where that leaves them as a franchise. But it’s kind of a hit-or-miss offseason.
“We’ll know early where their head is when we start to see some of these bigger names defensively. I think Bakhtiari and Aaron Jones are for sure off this roster, but they could go a lot deeper with these roster cuts and really free up some situations if they choose to.”