The makeup of the Green Bay Packers‘ running back room is a great deal different than the one that fans, and even the front office, might have expected after the 2023 NFL season ended. As is the case all too often in the NFL, though, things do not always go as expected.
After the Packers were eliminated by the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Playoffs, many fans wonder if star running back Aaron Jones would be back in 2024. While he had been injured for most of the season, he ended the year with five straight 100+ yard rushing performances, becoming the first player in franchise history to accomplish the feat.
At the time, general manager Brian Gutekunst said he “absolutely” believed that Jones would be back in 2024. But as everyone knows, that did not end up happening.
Despite their desire to bring Jones back in 2024, the Packers wanted to do so on their terms. Those terms included him taking a significant pay cut.
Jones had already taken a massive pay cut to remain with the team in 2023. He did not want to take another one, so the Packers released him.
“Yeah, really tough. I mean, obviously the business of football never stops and those things are, you know, any player that’s committed the way he has to our football team … just the way he was in that locker room – and obviously a very productive player – that’s always tough. But I think over time you get used to it. It’s just kind of the business of football,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said after Jones was released.
“But we wish him well. He couldn’t have represented us any better in his time with us. So… But very tough.”
Jones ended up signing with the Minnesota Vikings for $7 million, $1 million more than Green Bay was willing to pay him.
In his first game with the Vikings, a road contest against the New York Giants, Jones had 14 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown.
Green Bay Packers Fans Turn on Aaron Jones After He Says He’s Excited for His First Home Game as a Minnesota Vikings Player
The Vikings will play their home opener on Sunday against the 49ers. It will be the first time Jones plays in Minnesota as a Vikings player, and it is something that he is very excited about. He told reporters today that he is looking forward to the SKOL chant: “It’s contagious. When you’re on the other sideline, you’re trying not to clap, you’re trying not to get into it.”
