Green Bay Packers: Bringing Back Aaron Jones is a “Priority”

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, now that Kenny Clark has received his extension, Aaron Jones is a “priority” for the Green Bay Packers.

Deservedly so, Kenny Clark has received his contract extension, and now everyone’s attention turns to the rest of the Green Bay Packers’ 2021 free agents. While the thought is that David Bakhtiari is next in line to get paid, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, bringing back Aaron Jones is a “priority” for Green Bay and that “they’d like to get him paid.”

Aaron Jones is coming off a breakout season in his first year of the Matt LaFleur offense. He totaled nearly 1,100 rushing yards, added almost 500 more through the air, and found the endzone 19 times. When Jones was on the field versus when he wasn’t, this Green Bay Packers’ offense looked completely different. And I mean different.

In an article by Bill Barnwell of ESPN, he points out that when Jones is on the field, Green Bay’s expected points per play ranked third in the NFL, behind only Kansas City and Baltimore – not bad company. On the flip side, when Jones was on the sidelines, the Packers ranked 29th in that same category.

It’s no secret how important Jones is to this offense, yet when it comes to re-signing him, people are split on what to do.

As we’ve seen in recent years, teams don’t need to pay running backs big money in order to be successful. In fact, the teams with the four highest-paid running backs in 2019 all missed the playoffs.

If Jones puts together a similar performance in 2020, he is going to be in line for a big payday. And a payday that could be out of Green Bay’s price range. As of now, Spotrac is projecting that Jones lands a four-year deal with an average annual value of $13.1 million in free agency.

So as I wrote earlier this offseason, if the Packers truly do want Jones back in Green Bay, a contract extension is the best route. This will allow them to likely sign him to a cheaper deal than if he were to hit the open market. And this appears to be the path that the Packers are taking.

Back in February at the NFL Combine, a source told Rob Demovsky of ESPN that both Jones and the Packers were open to discussing a contract extension. Then in late May, Demovksy would report that Jones’ agent, Chris Cabott, said that talks had taken place between the two parties.

Now we have the latest report from Rapoport that only continues to suggest that an extension between Jones and the Green Bay Packers is bound to happen at some point. Perhaps one similar to that of Austin Eckler’s with the Los Angeles Chargers that pays Jones in the $7 million to $8 million range in terms of average annual value.

As Jacob Westendorf from Packer Report said, where there is smoke, there is fire.

While it can be argued whether or not paying the running back position is the prudent thing to do, what can’t be argued is how good Jones was in 2019 and his importance to this offense. With how important having a versatile running back is to the LaFleur offense, bringing back Jones does, in fact, appear to be a priority.