The Green Bay Packers have had an eventful offseason yet again. Of course, no one can say that this year has been anywhere close as dramatic as the last few offseasons. The 2020 offseason saw the Packers select Jordan Love and face a great deal of scrutiny for it. 2021 saw Aaron Rodgers hold out after winning his third NFL MVP Award. 2022 saw Green Bay give Rodgers a three-year $150 million contract extension amongst continued strife between him and the organization.
Last year may have been the most dramatic of them all as Rodgers was traded to the New York Jets in favor of Love. In the aftermath of that trade, Rodgers continued to criticize and accuse the Packers’ front office of wrongdoing, which only led to more outside criticism.
Fortunately for Green Bay, Love ended up being a fantastic quarterback and Brian Gutekunst looked like a prophet as a result. Unfortunately, that success did not stop the need for more tough decisions to be made.
The Green Bay Packers Released Aaron Jones After Signing Josh Jacobs
One of the most noteworthy unfortunate decisions that the Packers had to make this offseason was releasing running back Aaron Jones. The move came shortly after Green Bay announced that they had reached an agreement on a four-year $48 million contract with 2022 NFL rushing leader Josh Jacobs.
Jones, one of the most beloved Packers players in recent memory, signed with the Minnesota Vikings a few days later. He ended his tenure in Green Bay as the franchise’s third all-time leading rusher, behind only Ahman Green and Jim Taylor.
Obviously, the Packers fanbase was disappointed to see Jones go. Not only was he a great player, but he was also an exemplary teammate and a fixture in the community.
For weeks, fans have known that Jones was asked to take a pay cut and that he had refused. However, it was only recently that Gutekunst revealed his side of the story.
Green Bay Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst Did Not Plan on Releasing Aaron Jones
On Wednesday night, Gutekunst appeared on an episode of “Packers Transplants” on Cheesehead TV. During his interview, he was asked about the decision to waive Jones, and his answer revealed that it was something that he had not planned to do:
“First of all, nothing happened. Aaron obviously is as first class as it gets, and so is his agent Drew Rosenhaus. We have great relationships with both of those guys. At the time, that was my expectation. It was kind of like I said, I absolutely expected Aaron to be back with us, that was kind of the intention.
“We knew there were some things to go through, some hurdles, and as we went through those, it just became harder than expected for me. And again, that’s the one thing we talk about all the time, the NFL landscape is always changing, and as it changes, we have to adapt to it. And that’s what happened. The landscape changed, we weren’t able to come to an agreement that we thought we might be able to with Aaron.”
Fans may remember that after the Packers’ loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Playoffs, Gutekunst was asked if he expected Jones to be back. At the time, he had said he “absolutely” expected that to happen.
His comments on “Packers Transplants” reveal that he was telling the truth back then. However, he thought that Jones would agree to a 50% pay cut. Of course, Jones did not want to do that, especially since he returned in 2023 after agreeing to a different pay cut.
No one wants to take a pay cut, but sometimes they are willing to for the betterment of the team. However, asking Jones to slash his salary two years in a row was too extreme for the running back.
Which is understandable, from his point of view.
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