With Contract Uncertainty, Jones Will ‘Treasure’ Every Carry

Aaron Jones was part of the banner 2017 NFL Draft class of running backs, a list that includes Minnesota's Dalvin Cook.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Aaron Jones’ recent comments about his contract set off a social-media wildfire.

However, there’s a lot more smoke than fire at this point in the running back’s negotiations. So, for all he knows, Sunday’s game at the Minnesota Vikings might be one of his final 16 in a Green Bay Packers uniform.

“I have no clue,” Jones said after Friday’s practice. “I haven’t talked to Chris (Cabott, his agent) in the past couple of days, so I’m just going to prepare for this game as any game and just go out there and focus on football. Whenever Chris calls me, he calls me.”

At this point last year, Jones was a bit of an unknown as Green Bay prepped for its opening game against Chicago. While Jones had a 5.5-yard average in his first two seasons – the third-best mark in NFL history among all running backs with at least 200 career carries – he had missed time with three separate knee injuries and had been inconsistent as a receiver.

Could Jones be a No. 1 back? Could he be a three-down back? Could he carry the load for 16-plus games?

Jones answered all of those questions in the affirmative with a superb third season. While he averaged “only” 4.6 yards per carry, Jones rushed for 1,084 yards, posted more than 1,550 total yards and tied for the NFL leads with 16 rushing touchdowns and 19 total touchdowns.

With that, Jones was recognized as the 33rd-best player in the NFL in NFL Network’s player-voted “Top 100 Players” series.

What does he do for an encore?

“I want to win the Super Bowl,” he said.

Jones was part of the banner 2017 NFL Draft class of running backs. In their first three seasons, Cincinnati’s Joe Mixon, Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey, Jacksonville’s Leonard Fournette, Seattle’s Chris Carson, New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara, Indianapolis’ Marlon Mack, Cleveland’s Kareem Hunt, Jones and Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook have all topped 2,000 rushing yards. Kamara, McCaffrey, Hunt, Cook, Mixon and Pittsburgh’s James Conner have been selected for Pro Bowls.

RELATED: THE RISK OF PLAYING RUNNING BACKS

McCaffrey ($64 million through 2025) and Mixon ($48 million through 2024) have signed monster contract extensions. Cook, the opposing running back in Sunday’s season-opening showdown, and the Saints' Alvin Kamara, who the Packers will face in Week 3, also agreed to big extensions on Saturday morning.

Jones will get his money, too. 

“I’m excited anytime I get to compete against one of those guys,” Jones, the 19th running back drafted in 2017, said. “You make sure you bring your A-game. He’s trying to do the same thing I’m trying to do. Those guys are drafted before you so it gets a little chip on your shoulder and you want to show why you’re just as good as those guys are. I’m excited to be out there and competing against Dalvin.”

Jones, left tackle David Bakhtiari, center Corey Linsley and cornerback Kevin King are among Packers players headed into their season under contract. On Wednesday, Bakhtiari said there’s been no “meaningful” talks toward an extension. With that type of uncertainty, he said his goal was to make this season the “most memorable” of his career.

Jones will carry the same mind-set.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “You’re not in control of a lot of things, so you kind of have to go about it in that way and treasure every moment. I always say that if you treasure every minute you have, every moment you have, every carry – any time you get to touch that field, you cherish that moment.”