The Green Bay Packers have had a massive off-season for the future of their team. While it was difficult to move on from David Bakhtiari (32) and Aaron Jones (29), the Packers brought in 26-year-old Josh Jacobs and 24-year-old Xavier McKinney.
Those moves further cemented that the Packers are committed to getting younger while also remaining competitive. However, another elite free agent announced that the Packers were interested in singing him.
The Green Bay Packers Were Reportedly Interested In Signing Electric Running Back
On the God Bless Football podcast, Austin Ekeler revealed the Packers were interested in signing him:
“There was like six that were generally interested on the first day,” said Ekeler. “Some threw out a number, some were like, ‘Yes, we want to talk, but we’re going after this person first,'” said Ekeler.
Ekeler later added that the Packers were one of the teams interested before he signed a deal with the Washington Commanders.
They may fall into the latter category of one of the teams who were interested but had other targets in mind. Green Bay signed Jacobs on the first day of free agency while Ekeler was available, indicating he was Brian Gutekunst’s top choice.
But if Jacobs had signed elsewhere, Ekeler could’ve ended up in Green Bay.
Ekeler was one of the league’s most talented and versatile running backs at his best. Between 2021 and 2022, he rushed for 1,826 yards and 25 touchdowns while catching 177 passes for 1,369 yards and 13 touchdowns.
However, his numbers declined dramatically in 2023, with Ekeler finishing with 628 yards and five touchdowns at a career-low 3.5 yards per carry.
The Packers Had A Plan At Running Back Well Before The Aaron Jones Deal Fell Through
The Packers knew keeping Jones would be a tall order. One season after the veteran running back agreed to take a $5 million pay cut, they were asking him to take another massive pay cut.
If the two sides couldn’t agree on a contract, the Packers needed to have another plan. Josh Jacobs was that plan and they signed him to a four-year contract that was extremely similar to the one Jones signed four years ago.
If Jacobs didn’t happen, the Packers were clearly looking into Ekeler and possibly a few other running backs. The Packers were one of the few teams that were seriously interested in trading for star running back Jonathan Taylor last season.
As much as Packers fans may not want to accept it, the writing may have been on the wall for Jones to leave the team this off-season a while ago.
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