Aaron Jones: 'Not surprised' by Packers, 'wanted to go somewhere I was wanted'

"Nothing really catches me by surprise in this league anymore."

Author:
Jonathan Harrison
Publish date:
Mar 14, 2024 8:39 PM EDT

Aaron Jones was cut by the Packers Monday afternoon and by early Tuesday morning the veteran running back already had a deal with a new team.

"It's not strange at all," Jones said Thursday in his introductory press conference with the Vikings. "It's football. I've played for many different teams growing up. Middle school, high school you change teams, you change teammates. That's part of the game."

Jones. 29, signed a one-year, $7 million deal with Minnesota after his seven-year career in Green Bay came to an abrupt end Monday.

"It's a part of the business, you know what you sign up for," Jones said of the quickness of his release. "My agent had called me before all of that had happened and told me it was a possibility. My mind was already prepared and I just wanted to go somewhere I was wanted."

Jones rushed for 5,940 yards and 45 touchdowns in seven seasons in Green Bay. With the Vikings, the veteran running back will pair with Ty Chandler. The Vikings are hoping the duo can revamp a rushing attack that struggled in 2023.

"I've always been a huge Aaron Jones fan," Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said Thursday. "Running the football, his ability to impact the game in the pass game, the poise, the demeanor and the leadership that was very, very visible from an opposing sideline... I think he enhances our [running back] room, more than just an addition of another running back, it's how he fits his skillset with Ty and our other runners in the room.

"He's a complete back from a standpoint of a guy that's played a lot of football. He is 29 years old but he's also been a part of an offense where he hasn't had to carry the full burden, the full load. And the impact on third down as a pass protector, a receiver out of the backfield. Five yards per carry career average, I mean this is a guy that's had the type of impact we were looking for to add to our room."

Jones was cut after the Packers agreed to terms with former Raiders running back Josh Jacobs.

"I'm never surprised by what goes on in the league," Jones continued. "The longer you stay the more crazier stuff you'll see... Nothing really catches me by surprise in this league anymore."

Hopping across the border to an NFC North rival means Jones will eventually make the trip back to Lambeau in purple and gold. Jones said it's going to be "fun" going back.

"It's going to be a lot of fun. I've played in hostile situations, hostile areas but to me at the end of the day it just going to be ball. I'm going back to where I used to play at," said Jones before ending his press conference with a boisterous SKOL chant.