The Green Bay Packers are going to have a very different running back room during the 2024 NFL season than the one they had in 2023. Last year, they carried three running backs onto their initial 53-man roster: Aaron Jones, AJ Dillon, and Emanuel Wilson.
Jones had 656 rushing yards and two touchdowns while appearing in just 11 games due to injuries. However, he ended the year as the first Packers player ever to rush for 100+ yards in five consecutive games (including Green Bay’s two postseason games).
Dillon had 613 rushing yards and two touchdowns in 15 games but had a career-worst 3.4 yards per carry.
Wilson played the least of the three, rushing 14 times for 85 yards. While Jones was injured, Green Bay promoted Patrick Taylor to the active roster and gave him more playing time.
Unexpectedly, the only one of those backs returning in 2024 is Wilson.
The Green Bay Packers Signed Running Back Josh Jacobs in Free Agency
Earlier this offseason, the Packers signed the best running back on the free agent market, former Las Vegas Raiders star Josh Jacobs. The 2022 NFL rushing champion is coming off of a down year which saw him run for 805 yards and six touchdowns in 13 games (he missed the last four games of the season with a leg injury).
Hours after Green Bay announced that they had signed Jacobs, the team also released Jones. The decision was unexpected by fans because Briant Gutekunst had said, after the 2023 regular season, that Jones would definitely be back in 2024.
Jones, though, did not want to take the pay cut that the Packers wanted him to. He has since signed with the Minnesota Vikings.
AJ Dillon chose to sign an extremely team friendly contract to stay with the Packers, even though he had more lucrative offers elsewhere. He showed up to training camp in the best shape of his life and seemed poised for a rebound season.
Unfortunately, he suffered his second stinger (neck injury) in nine months and was placed on season-ending injured reserve.
Wilson made the 53-man roster along with Jacobs and 2024 third-round pick Marshawn Lloyd.
Green Bay Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur Addresses the Decision to Put AJ Dillon on IR
On Wednesday, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur addressed the media for the first time since the 53-man rosters were set. He was asked about the decision to place Dillon on IR, and he gave a very deflating answer.
“It’s really discouraging because we had a pretty clear vision for what he was going to do,” LaFleur said. “It wasn’t just as a runner. The versatility was what I was most excited about, in regards to doing a lot of things.”
There were some fans on social media who speculated that the Packers were putting Dillon on IR because they did not want to carry him onto the 53-man roster. These speculations are clearly wrong for a couple of reasons.
First, Dillon is on a team-friendly contract and would not be expensive to cut. If the Packers did not think he was better than any of their other three running backs, they would have released him.
Second, Dillon played less than five snaps in Green Bay’s first preseason game. If the Packers did not consider him a roster lock already, he would have played more.
It is a shame that fans will not be treated to the plays LaFleur had in mind for Dillon this year. Hopefully his neck heals, and he can continue on with his NFL career, whether it be in Green Bay or elsewhere.
