Packers: Aaron Jones and Keisean Nixon aren't here for a rebuild
The Green Bay Packers finished the 2022 season with an 8-9 record and Aaron Rodgers is no longer on the team. An unproven Jordan Love is now the starting quarterback and there are plenty of questions on both sides of the ball. That's a long-winded way of saying the Packers are in rebuild mode, right? […]
The Green Bay Packers finished the 2022 season with an 8-9 record and Aaron Rodgers is no longer on the team. An unproven Jordan Love is now the starting quarterback and there are plenty of questions on both sides of the ball.
That's a long-winded way of saying the Packers are in rebuild mode, right?
Nope. Especially if you ask Pro Bowler Aaron Jones and All-Pro Keisean Nixon.
"No, not at all," Jones told reporters when asked for his thoughts on the subject. "We have everything we need here. If you think we're in a rebuild then you got the wrong team, the wrong place. We're here to play ball, we have everything we need, like I said. Our defense is going to be ready to ball, we're going be ready to ball, special teams are going to be ready to ball. So we know it's going to take all of that and we're going to have to depend on each other in all phases. We're hungry. You know, we're ready to prove a lot of people wrong.
"We know what people are saying. Everybody has an opinion and most of them stink."
One of those people is Jones' teammate and one of the Packers' best players in David Bakhtiari. The All-Pro left tackle said back in April "that is what that is" in reference to the transition from Rodgers to Love. It was open and honest, sure, but Nixon and Jones clearly don't agree with him.
"I don't think there's anything to prove," said Nixon. "Nobody in this locker room thinks of it as a rebuild. I don't even know where that speculation came from, so I said something about it. I'm gonna stand on what I believe in and who I am as a person. I talked to plenty guys that are head guys on this team and we love everybody who left and it's just how it is. It's the business side of this, but it's not a rebuild.
"We are coming to win now."
It's definitely not all gloom and doom for the Packers. For starters, they have a lot of young, premium talent that has shown it can play in the NFL. Green Bay also has the 12th-easiest schedule when basing it off of Vegas' projected win totals for 2023. Add in a mid NFC North and it's easy to see why there's confidence in the locker room.
At the same time, one can also see Bakhtiari's point of view. The team struggled early-on even with Rodgers at quarterback and there are lots of questions on both sides of the ball, primarily in the trenches. And, let's be honest, the Packers coaching staff has a lot to prove this year. Last year was not a good look for Matt LaFleur and Joe Barry – only Rich Bisaccia came out clean.
Either way, there's one thing everyone can agree on: Winning will fix everything and get everyone on the same page.
