Vikings just gave one of the best Packers players of all-time a chance to get revenge on his old team
NFL free agency has provided an interesting trend, so far: Running backs joining rival teams.Former Green Bay Packers running back, Aaron Jones, is the latest to keep it going after agreeing to terms with the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday morning, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. He joins Saquon Barkley, who joined the Eagles, and D'Andre […]
NFL free agency has provided an interesting trend, so far: Running backs joining rival teams.
Former Green Bay Packers running back, Aaron Jones, is the latest to keep it going after agreeing to terms with the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday morning, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. He joins Saquon Barkley, who joined the Eagles, and D'Andre Swift, a former Lion who is now with the Bears, as the latest players to join forces with "the dark side".
Per Pelissero, Jones' deal is a one-year contract worth $7 million.
Jones also follows a Packers trend over the years, which is former Pro Bowlers joining the Vikings, in general. It all kind of started with Brett Favre back in 2009 and then Greg Jennings, Ryan Longwell, Za'Darius Smith, etc. followed suit.
Regardless, Jones will now get a chance to show the Packers they made a big mistake in cutting him on Monday. He's going to have plenty of motivation entering 2024, but that's going to ramp things up in a big way. It'll be must-see TV when these teams meet, this year.
"… The Packers wanted him to take almost a 50-percent pay cut, if not more. Negotiations between the Packers and agent Drew Rosenhaus to lower Jones’ number started before the NFL Scouting Combine but didn’t make much progress over the following two weeks. The week after the combine, the two sides got slightly closer but were still far apart late in the week. The Packers presented their final offer to Jones’ camp, which they declined last Friday.
"As is common practice, the Packers rescinded their final offer after Jones’ camp declined it. They notified Jones that they were moving on since they didn’t want to shift their focus to another running back and have to turn Jones away if he accepted the final offer." – Diana Russini and Matt Schneidman, The Athletic
Jones can still play and he's a good fit in the Vikings offense
The Pro Bowler battled injuries last year, but he was very effective once he got healthy. He also missed six games and chunks of others, yet still finished 111 total yards shy of hitting 1,000 scrimmage yards for the fifth-straight season.
He's an excellent complement to Ty Chandler, who has a very similar skillset. Jones' presence would allow the Vikings to keep masking what it's doing on offense – meaning, his presence on the field wouldn't tip the Vikings' hat like if, let's say Derrick Henry was on the field. Either player can run it or catch it – and that will be big down the line.
Jones finishes his tenure in Green Bay as the Packers' third-leading rusher of all-time, with 5,940 yards. His 45 rushing touchdowns are fourth-most in franchise history and his 5.0 yards per carry are easily No. 1 among all backs with at least 500 carries as a Packer.
