Aaron Jones is still a Green Bay Packers player. That’s a sentence that I don’t think a lot of us would have said a few weeks ago. But Jones is a Packer for another four years and 48 million dollars. Jones is only getting $13 million of that guaranteed. Green Bay did not overpay for Jones nor did they give him a ton of guaranteed money. He is one of the best running backs in football, and Green Bay is paying him like that. Running backs do grow on trees, but sometimes, the special ones deserve more than that. Jones is a special talent who does things for Green Bay in both the rushing and receiving game. They had a contract for Jones and he took it versus trying out on his own. Brian Gutekunst did a great job

There is a lot of noise today about paying running backs. The armchair GMs of Wisconsin are wondering why Green Bay would do something like that. The details aren’t out. But what will likely be the case is that Jones gets the guaranteed money this year, but the amount he makes isn’t much. Green Bay will likely have an opt-out in year two if they need it, and Jones’ deal will be backloaded. Gutekunst is not exactly playing for a running back in that way. Rather, he is giving him a year of his contract upfront immediately then they’ll play in the first two years. He received less guaranteed money than Alvin Kamara, Dalvin Cook, or Ezekiel Elliott. I’d say this contract favors the team versus the player.

Green Bay could have started fresh with a guy that fit the prototype of Jones. Shifty, a good pass-catcher to complement A.J. Dillion, but the time is now for Green Bay to win. I’m not sure if Green Bay is set up for total success with Dillon and another young running back. Aaron Rodgers needs to trust his guys and if his backfield is almost brand new, that presents a challenge for Green Bay. Now, you have Jones and Dillion which could be one of the best 1-2 punches in all of football.

Jones’ return means that Green Bay will not miss a beat in the running game. That running game helped Rodgers win the MVP and get close to the Super Bowl. That is the goal again, and it seems like the Packers have what it takes to get there.

Charlie.