Packers Re-Sign Pro Bowl RB Aaron Jones
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Aaron Jones is back with the Green Bay Packers.
In a Sunday bombshell, Jones announced his re-signing on Twitter.
In a confirmation text to Packer Central, agent Drew Rosenhaus said, “Aaron Jones has reached an agreement with the Packers on a four-year deal for $48 million with a $13 million signing bonus. We anticipated bigger offers in free agency but Aaron wanted to stay with the Packers.”
The Packers did not use the franchise tag on Jones at Tuesday’s deadline. Given their inability to extend Jones throughout the season, the team’s cap problems and last year’s second-round draft pick of running back AJ Dillon, his departure from Green Bay seemed more likely than not. Instead, on the eve of the free-agent negotiating period, Jones got the long-term deal he had been seeking for months.
The Miami Dolphins were the betting favorite to land Jones. The Dolphins have a lot of cap space, Rosenhaus is based in Miami and Jones has been training in Miami.
“Man, I’m just glad I can keep playing where I started my career,” Jones said on Instagram. “And for everybody who thought I knew where I was going, you guys are funny. I didn’t even know where I was going.”
The Packers had gotten themselves close to the salary cap; now, there is more work to be done. But, with the signing bonus working out to a $3.25 million charge on this year's cap, the contract might not have a dramatic impact.
A fifth-round compensatory draft pick in 2017, Jones has been nothing short of fantastic. In four seasons, he ranks tied for fourth in franchise history with 37 rushing touchdowns and 11th with 3,364 rushing yards. With another 1,000-yard season, he’ll blow past the likes of Hall of Famers Paul Hornung and Tony Canadeo and move into fourth place on the franchise list.
Among all running backs with 100 career carries, his 5.17-yard average tops the team chart.
There is an obvious danger in paying running backs. Jones will turn 30 during the final year of the contract.
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But Jones is special. Among all backs in NFL history with at least 650 carries, Jones ranks sixth in yards per carry. He’s averaged at least 5.47 yards per attempt in three of his four seasons. He had another great year in 2020. While he didn’t find the end zone nearly as often (11 total touchdowns vs. his league-leading 19 in 2019), he rushed for a career-high 1,104 yards and averaged 5.49 yards per carry.
Where Jones really stands out from the crowd of current NFL running backs is his explosiveness. His ability to cut and go without losing speed is elite. His career 10-yard run rate is 13.1% as defenders are constantly forced to dive at ankles. According to Pro Football Focus, 33.1% of his rushing yards in 2020 came on runs of 15-plus yards, the seventh-highest rate in the NFL. He forced a missed tackle on 18.1% of his carries, 11th-best among backs with 100 carries, according to Sports Info Solutions. Far more than just a checkdown or screen player in the passing game, he added 47 receptions.
Jones’s all-around skill-set was put on full display during a 42–21 victory over the Detroit Lions in Week 2 at Lambeau Field. He rushed for a career-high 168 yards, added a leaping 30-yard reception and contributed a critical blitz pickup on what amounted to the clinching completion to Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
His 236 yards from scrimmage that day were the most by a Packers player in 64 years and the third-highest figure in franchise history behind legendary receivers Billy Howton (257 yards vs. the Los Angeles Rams in 1956) and Don Hutson (237 in vs. the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1943). Combined with his 226 yards at Kansas City last season, Jones became the first player in franchise history to have two games with 225-plus yards from scrimmage.
“Jonesy, he’s such a game breaker,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said after Jones’s three-touchdown performance that day.
Jones was a game-breaking runner from the day he set foot in Green Bay. As a rookie, he averaged 5.5 yards per carry. It was the rest of his game that needed to improve. His first season, Jones was sidelined twice by knee injuries, was a speed bump in pass protection and a poor receiver. Of 121 running backs with at least 30 pass-protecting snaps, Jones ranked 93rd in ProFootballFocus.com’s pass-protection metric. Even worse, of every player since 1992 to be targeted at least 18 times in the passing game, no player was worse than Jones’s 1.22 yards per target. None. At any position. He caught 9-of-18 passes for just 22 yards.
Jones took on the challenge and built himself into one of the NFL’s best running backs.
“I think it’s just the growth in me, and just continuing to work and not being satisfied with anything,” Jones said of his leaping catch, though the statement could apply to his game in totality. “I mean, you have a good season last year, but you’re only as good as last year. So, you have to come out and outperform that. There’s a lot of ways to better your game and continue to work.”
