In the 2023 offseason, several teams shed salary on expensive contracts, while others, including the Packers, signed veteran starters to low-salary contracts. Aaron Jones is under contract until 2024 and received a significant raise, which appears to have caused his performance to dip again.
General manager Brian Gutekunst may be tight-lipped about Jones leaving Green Bay, but he did say (via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic ) that the Packers “absolutely” expect the starter to be back on the roster in 2024. Jones has been with the Packers since 2017. Of the 2017 RB draft class, only he, Alvin Kamara and Joe Mixon remain with the team that drafted them. Jones agreed in February to take a $5 million pay cut, including an $8.52 million signing bonus.
The restructuring added a year off to the veteran’s contract and lowered his 2023 cap hit to $8.2 million. The cap hit in 2024 is $17 million, which could mean another move by the Packers to land a top RB deal. Extending Jones would make sense because if he isn’t re-signed by the 2025 league year, the year out of his current contract would result in a $6.6 million cap hit.
However, teams are no longer in the habit of supporting players after the age of 20. The Packers offered Jones a four-year, $48 million contract until he became a free agent in 2021, which they voided after not paying him for several years. The NFL decided to primarily pressure RBs last year, which led to a further decline in the value of the position well past its prestige peak.Jones, 29, has missed this season with MCL and hamstring issues.
The injury caused the seven-year veteran to miss six games. But the UTEP nut was effective when available and finished the season. The former fifth-round pick returned in Week 14 and finished the season with five consecutive 100-yard rushes. That mattered twice in the playoffs, when the Packers beat the Cowboys and then knocked off the top-seeded 49ers six days later.
Jones’ veteran presence certainly helped a Packer team that relies heavily on first- or second-year passers.AJ Dillon is coming off a slow contract year and is eyeing free agency in a tough time looming in the RB market. Jones’ release, which includes $12 million in dead money after Season 1, sends him into a market that includes Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry, Austin Ekeler, Tony Pollard and D’Andre Swift.
Dillon is unlikely to make a deal in this market. Losing Jones creates a huge need for the Packers, despite being at a position easily filled. Gutekunst also tried to cool the Jair Alexander trade rumors. The former Packers general manager said via Schneidman that a trade for Alexander is not being considered. After Alexander’s missed coin toss led to a one-game suspension, reports called the future of Wisconsin’s highly-paid cornerback into question.
The Packers owe Alexander $8 million on the March 20 roster.The Packers gave Alexander a four-year, $84 million extension through 2022 — which remains the highest AAV for a cornerback in the NFL — but the former first-round pick has missed a lot of time in recent three seasons due to injuries.
Alexander has missed 10 games this year after missing most of the 2021 season with a shoulder ailment. This contract and his expensive contract reduced Alexander’s trade value. That said, Pro Football Focus ranks the six-year veteran as one of the top 25 prospects at the position this season.