Aaron Jones sees age as nothing more than a number, and his services will most likely remain in Green Bay for the foreseeable future.
When asked if the Green Bay Packers’ star running back, Aaron Jones, will lead the backfield next season, general manager Brian Gutekunst didn’t mince words.
Whatever heights the Packers reach—or the equally realistic lows to which they will fall—he expects the 29-year-old to remain present, despite uncertainty about his future.
Aaron Jones sees age as nothing more than a number, and his services will most likely remain in Green Bay for the foreseeable future.
When asked if the Green Bay Packers’ star running back, Aaron Jones, will lead the backfield next season, general manager Brian Gutekunst didn’t mince words.
Whatever heights the Packers reach—or the equally realistic lows to which they will fall—he expects the 29-year-old to remain present, despite uncertainty about his future.
“Yeah, absolutely, we’d love to have Aaron Jones back, but we’re still figuring out how we’re going to move forward,” Gutekunst said. “He was such a difference-maker when he was out there this year.” The offense was able to move, and he changed a lot of the way we worked while he was in there and healthy.”
The Packers may have to restructure Jones’ contract to comply with the salary cap, but this isn’t exactly new territory for them. They’ve already changed the structure of his contract several times, most recently last offseason when they reduced his compensation by almost $5 million.
“Yeah, absolutely, we’d love to have Aaron Jones back, but we’re still figuring out how we’re going to move forward,” Gutekunst said. “He was such a difference-maker when he was out there this year.” The offense was able to move, and he changed a lot of the way we worked while he was in there and healthy.”
The Packers may have to restructure Jones’ contract to comply with the salary cap, but this isn’t exactly new territory for them. They’ve already changed the structure of his contract several times, most recently last offseason when they reduced his compensation by almost $5 million.
Even a few years later, this has occurred on occasion. The Packers have given the majority of Jones’ touches to AJ Dillon, a 2020 second-round pick from Boston College—determining whether this is due to draft status or a genuine belief that Dillon’s 247-pound frame was needed is a fool’s errand, but the offense did not operate at the same pace as it did with Jones. However, it was vital to keep Jones fresh.
Jones missed many games due to a hamstring injury sustained in the season-opening victory over the Chicago Bears on September 10. During a 35-yard catch-and-run, he reached up and gripped the back of his leg as he crossed the end zone. Between that game and the Oct. 22 loss to the Denver Broncos, he missed three games and had only six touches in his one appearance against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 28.
His reappearance was short-lived. Jones returned to the lineup for five games before spraining the medial collateral ligament in his right knee, his fifth such injury.
“For us, it’s finding a way to keep him out there and keep him healthy,” he said. “Not only on the field, as you are aware, but he is also a strong leader in our locker room. He is our team’s heartbeat. That’s kind of the expectation that he’ll return.”
Even if there was some hesitation about Jones returning—and going against Gutekunst’s intention to build a youthful roster across the board—his tear at the conclusion of the season may have been enough to alleviate that concern. Between a Christmas Eve victory against the Carolina Panthers and a Divisional Round loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Jones had five consecutive 100-yard games, the longest streak in franchise history. That includes 118 yards—131 from scrimmage—against the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card game, punctuated by three touchdowns en route to a comprehensive thrashing of the NFC’s No. 2 seed.
Jones has faced the Cowboys four times in his career, totaling 603 yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns. He has ran for over 100 yards and averaged more than 5.5 yards per carry in all four games. Jones’ three recent touchdowns pushed him beyond Edgar Bennett for the most post-season running scores in franchise history.
With his ninth season approaching, Jones will turn 30 in December, just as the Packers are expected to make another postseason run. The well-documented wall is looming, just as it has for previous greats; Jones will no longer be able to move as swiftly or target specific spots with the same explosiveness as he has in the past. If that time has come, Jones has done nothing but provide evidence to the contrary, and given that he is the engine that drives the Packers’ offense—so much so that they were playing like the best unit in the league for the last two months of the season—they better hope that remains the case.
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