Cut, Re-Structure, Trade: What should Packers do with Aaron Jones?

Aaron Jones was one of the Green Bay Packers’ best playmakers the last couple of seasons and completely turns the offense around when he’s utilized properly.

Despite battling injuries for most of the season, he appeared in every game last season for just the second time in his career. He had 213 rush attempts for a career-high 1121 yards and a 5.3 yards per carry average. Unfortunately, he was rarely used inside the red zone and only racked up two rushing touchdowns.

Jones was also a weapon out of the backfield where he hauled in a career-high 59 receptions for 395 yards and an additional five touchdowns. The “pony” package featuring Jones and Dillon was a dynamic weapon for head coach Matt LaFleur.

The options for Aaron Jones this offseason seem pretty clear: Cut, re-structure or trade. What should the Green Bay Packers do with him?

I previously explored Aaron Rodgers’ options and what Green Bay should do with him. Here, I lay out the pros and cons for each of the major options, and you decide what the Packers should do. For Jones, those options are a re-structure, cut or trade. Without further ado, let’s dive in.

Re-Structure:

A simple re-structure would save the Packers $10.5 million in 2023 with a max void restructure saving a little more than $11 million. That’s crucial space for a team who will likely have to touch every veteran contract in one way or another this offseason just to get under the salary cap.

Jones is in the prime of his career and bringing him back would provide relief for whoever is at quarterback next season. He makes defenses respect the running game and can be a safety valve out of the backfield.

Cut:

It’s hard to have a running back account for $20 million on the salary cap in the year of 2023 our lord. That’s quarterback territory.

That would be Jones’ cap hit if he remained on the Packers with his contract untouched. No matter when it happens, a cut would knock that down to $9.5 million while saving Green Bay about $10.5 million.

Trade:

Instead of losing Jones for nothing as a cut would bring, trade is another option. Jones can be an explosive playmaker that fits into just about any offense. He’s also a great locker room presence that could help off the field.

It’s unclear what his market would be, but the Packers would at least save money. A pre-June 1 trade would save them $10.5 million on the cap this year with a post-June 1 trade saving them $16 million between this year and next.