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The Green Bay Packers have several questions to answer in the offseason, not the least of which is who will serve as the future of the running back room.
Aaron Jones suffered an MCL sprain Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers and has already missed several games in 2023. He is under contract through next year but carries a $17.7 million salary cap hit in 2024 and is a prime cap casualty candidate. Meanwhile, AJ Dillon has stumbled in a contract year, producing a career-low average of 3.5 yards per carry.
The Packers engaged in trade talks for Indianapolis Colts star running back Jonathan Taylor earlier this season, making clear their interest in a big-time rusher as well as a willingness to pay significantly to acquire one. Taylor has since re-signed in Indy, which leaves his teammate Zack Moss the odd man out and a potential free-agent target for Green Bay.
Zack Moss Producing Career Year with Colts in 2023
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GettyRunning back Zack Moss of the Indianapolis Colts carries the football during an NFL game against the Cleveland Browns in October 2023.
Like Dillon, Moss is also playing in a contract year. Unlike Dillon, Moss’s arrow is pointing upwards as he is in the midst of a career campaign.
Bleacher Report’s NFL Staff suggested on Monday, November 20, that the Packers take a run at Moss next Spring.
“With A.J. Dillon being an impending free agent this offseason, Green Bay is expected to be looking for a ‘between the tackles’ type of running back this offseason,” BR wrote. “While Taylor was on the PUP [physically unable to perform] list to begin the campaign, Moss started the season hot with a couple of triple-digit rushing performances in the team’s first four games. He’s cooled off since Taylor returned to action, but the Utah product has already set career highs with 617 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns through Week [11].”
A third-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in the 2020 NFL Draft, Moss has limited tread. The 25-year-old back has carried the ball only 434 times across his four years in the league. He has also shown himself a capable pass-catcher out of the backfield, amassing 64 receptions on 83 targets for 454 yards and 3 touchdowns over the course of his career.
Zack Moss Makes Financial, On-Field Sense as Replacement for Aaron Jones in Green Bay
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GettyIndianapolis Colts running back Zack Moss.
Moss has displayed in 2023 the capability to be a 1,000-yard rusher if afforded lead back responsibilities full-time. He also represents value potential at a position where salaries are dipping and player value is dropping seemingly with each passing year.
Spotrac currently projects Moss’s market value at $4.6 million annually over a new two-year contract. He is playing in the final season of a four-year rookie deal that has paid him $4.6 million in total. Dillon’s projection has fallen to $3.5 million annually on just a one-year deal based on his regression this season.
Moss represents more bang for the Packers’ buck than does Dillon, even at a higher annual average salary. That said, Green Bay could take a common route in the modern NFL and secure both Moss and Dillon to lead the offensive backfield together in 2024.
At a combined $8.1 million via Spotrac projections, the two would cost less than half of the salary cap hit Jones represents next season due to a contract restructure. The Packers can foot that entire bill, and then some, by cutting or trading Jones after June 1 of next year — a move that would trim nearly $11.5 million off of Green Bay’s cap sheet.