The Green Bay Packers have revitalized their running back room this offseason. For the past seven season, the Packers’ backfield featured, to some degree, fan-favorite Aaron Jones. Over the course of those seven year, Jones became Green Bay’s third all-time rushing leader, trailing just Ahman Green and Hall of Famer Jim Taylor. Unfortunately, the Packers and Jones could not reach an agreement this offseason and he was released.
The decision the Packers made to release Jones because he did not want to take another pay cut was not a very popular one with the fan base. However, in Green Bay’s defense, Jones did play the fewest games of his career in 2023 (11) due to various injuries. On the other hand, once he got healthy towards the end of the year, Jones had five 100+ rushing games in a row (including the Packers’ two playoff games).
In any case, Jones was cut to save money on the salary cap despite being immensely popular with the fanbase and productive when healthy. However, running back careers can flame out quickly and Green Bay has always been a team to risk moving on from a player too early rather than moving on from them too late.
The Green Bay Packers Signed 2022 NFL Rushing Leader Josh Jacobs and Selected Marshawn Lloyd in the 2024 NFL Draft
Hours before Jones’ release from Green Bay was announced, it was reported that the Packers had come to an agreement on a four-year $48 million with 2022 NFL rushing leader Josh Jacobs. In that particular season, he had 1,653 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.
Jacobs missed the last four games of the 2023 season with a leg injury, but still had 1,101 yards from scrimmage. He did, however, average just 3.5 yards per carry, the worst mark of his career. That being said, he was not playing within a good offense and was forced to shoulder a load he will not be expected to carry in Green Bay.
Additionally, the Packers selected USC running back Marshawn Lloyd in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. In his final college season (which was his first at USC after three years at South Carolina), Lloyd ran for 820 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 7.1 yards per carry.
The Green Bay Packers Also Brought Back Running Back AJ Dillon
In a somewhat surprising move, the Packers also re-signed running back AJ Dillon to a one-year deal that has just a $1.29 million cap hit. In order to be able to do this, Green Bay used the rare four-year qualifying offer.
Dillon did not have his best season in 2023, which was concerning considering it was the final year of his rookie contract. For the third consecutive season, he saw his production drop despite receiving roughly the same amount of rushing attempts in each season. In 2021, he had 803 rushing yards while averaging 4.3 yards per carry. In 2022, he had 770 rushing yards while averaging 4.1 yards per attempt.
Last year, though, Dillon had just 613 rushing yards while averaging a low 3.4 yards per attempt. Due to these numbers, many presumed that he would be the running back Green Bay moved on from, not Jones.
It was also surprising to see him sign for such a low salary.
AJ Dillon Wanted to Remain with the Green Bay Packers Despite Their Low-Ball Offer
Near the beginning of Green Bay OTA’s Dillon revealed that he had received contract offers from other teams for a lot more money than he accepted to stay with the Packers. However, he felt that staying home in Wisconsin was what was best for his family.
He also felt like he had a lot to prove, as was evident in one of his latest social media posts:
Sometimes you gotta lose yourself to find yourself again. Welcome back! 🫡 pic.twitter.com/ooAmtRXsAT
— AJ Dillon (@ajdillon7) June 3, 2024
As one can see in the pictures, Dillon has reported to OTA’s with a much more toned body than he has had in the past. Obviously, he was motivated by the Packers’ low contract offer and their adding of two new running backs that will compete with him for playing time.
Dillon’s message is more than obvious: he is going to make sure the Packers get a lot more out of him than $1.29 million worth of production. He is going to be playing for the chance to stay with the team that took him in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Hopefully, 2024 is his best year yet.
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