Former Green Bay Packers Running Back Aaron Jones was the bell cow RB1 since he was drafted by the team in 2017. Totaling 5,940 rushing yards and 45 rushing touchdowns to go along with 2,076 receiving yards and 18 receiving touchdowns in his Packers career that spanned 7 years.
Aaron Jones was a key part of many of the Packers deep playoff runs over the last several years, and helped elevate the play of Aaron Rodgers during 2 of his MVP seasons as well as assisting in the development of the Packers new franchise QB Jordan Love. However, with the recent acquisition of Josh Jacobs, Aaron Jones’ time in Green Bay has come to an end.
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Green Bay Packers Signing Josh Jacobs Marked the End of Aaron Jones Era
Early on at the start of the 2024 NFL Free Agency period, the Green Bay Packers made their intentions clear that they wanted to go in a different direction at the running back position. While Jones has been a very good running back for the Packers, they simply couldn’t pass on the opportunity to take advantage of a loaded running back market when they had the chance.
By signing former Raiders running back Josh Jacobs to a 4 year contract worth $48 Million, the writing was on the wall that Aaron Jones would no longer be a part of the team moving forward.
Aaron Jones States That he Wanted to Sign Where he “Felt Wanted”
During his introductory press conference with the Minnesota Vikings, Jones’ was quoted by saying “It’s a part of the business. You know what you signed up for. My agent had called me before all of that happened, told me it was a possibility, so my mind was already prepared, and I just wanted to go where I felt wanted.
That’s here, and I’m excited to be here.” It’s clear that while Jones gave the Packers many years of quality production, he never really felt like a feature back for the team and is excited about having the opportunity to prove that he is with the Vikings.
The Green Bay Packers are coming off of what many believe to be an extremely successful season given the circumstances. The team’s main goal for the 2023 season was to develop their young quarterback Jordan Love and hopefully come out of it with their future franchise quarterback.
Fortunately, Love showed significant growth as the season progressed as he led them to a playoff appearance in just his first season starting. Now is the time for the Packers to surround their young star quarterback with as much high end talent as they possibly can in hopes of taking yet another step next season.
While Aaron Jones was a quality player during his time in Green Bay, it’s clear that the philosophy of the front office and coaching staff has shifted towards building their roster with younger premiere players that can help Love ascend. Jacobs will assume the role of RB1 with Aaron Jones’ departure, while Jones‘ will be able to see his former team at least twice a season with the Minnesota Vikings It will be very interesting to watch how the rest of both Jacobs’ and Jones’ careers unfold now that they’re division rivals.
