Aaron Jones will return to the Packers next season after agreeing to a $5 million pay cut on Friday. The star running back received an $8.5M signing bonus as part of a reworked contract that figures to reduce his $20M cap hit by about $12M.
Despite the pay cut, Jones made out extremely well in the restructuring. He’ll earn $11M in 2023, which is more than the value of the franchise tag for a running back. Not too shabby for a 28-year-old who plays a position that continues to be devalued.
While relatively old for a running back, Jones showed very little sign of slowing down in 2022. The former UTEP star rushed for 1,121 yards and averaged 5.3 yards per carry. He also caught 59 passes for another 395 yards. Five fumbles, including one in the Week 18 elimination game versus the Lions, was the only blemish on an otherwise outstanding season.
Jones is 5-foot-9 and weighs barely over 200 pounds but runs like a much bigger man. He averaged 3.20 yards after contact per attempt last season, which was ninth-best in the league among players with at least 200 carries. The only aspect of Jones’ game that has seemingly been affected by Father Time is his explosiveness. The Packers’ 2022 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee had 10 gains of at least 4o yards in his first four seasons but only one such run since.
Does retaining Jones tell us anything in regard to quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ future, which remains up in the air? Probably not, since Brian Gutekunst made his plans for Jones crystal clear when he met with the local media a month ago. “Certainly, we expect to have him back,” said the team’s fifth-year general manager. Obviously, he’s a dynamic player.”
Say what you will about Gutekunst, but he holds onto good players, even when they’re getting a little long in the tooth and making a lot of money. Since being hired in January 2018, the only quality veterans he’s allowed to leave Green Bay were Corey Linsley, Za’Darius Smith, and Davante Adams, who wanted to be traded. Among the older players he’s re-signed to pricey long-term extensions are Rodgers, David Bakhtiari, Preston Smith, De’Vondre Campbell, and Mason Crosby.
VERDICT: It’s really hard to find fault with keeping a very good player AND creating about $12M of much-needed cap space. Having Jones around for another season makes even more sense if Rodgers returns and the Packers attempt another run at the Lombardi Trophy. The move is at least debatable if Jordan Love takes over at quarterback. In that case, developing a rookie and finally giving AJ Dillon the opportunity to be RB1 might’ve been the better way to go.
I feel better after reading your article. Not that I didn’t want to keep Jones, but after the Corbin Burns thing with the Brewers it was a bad look to have one of your best players take a pay cut to stay with the team. Looks like it could be a win for Jones, too.
I’m not as concerned about the lack of explosive runs this past season. With the offense sputtering post-Adams defenses could focus more on stopping Jones. With another year of Watson/Doubs and what will be (hopefully) some more solid additions to that side of the ball I would imagine 33 has more room to run.