Green Bay Packers: Aaron Jones Reveals Plans About Possible Return to Team in 2024.
The Green Bay Packers’ 2023 season was largely successful. The franchise discovered that Jordan Love is a strong candidate for the position of quarterback in the future. In their first year without Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay improved on their previous season’s record, made the NFL Playoffs, and defeated Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round.
The development of their Packers’ young pass catchers as one of the NFL’s deepest groupings was another nice surprise that many did not expect. That being said, none of the Packers’ accomplishments this season have come lightly. They overcome several obstacles and, at times, looked very terrible before figuring it out.
One of the challenges they faced was the injury-plagued season of star running back Aaron Jones. After a fantastic game in Week One that saw him put up over 100 all-purpose yards and score two touchdowns, Jones missed the next few games with a strained hamstring.
Even when he returned from the hamstring injury, Jones did not look like himself. Then, he sprained his MCL in the Packers’ victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, which cost him a few more games. The loss of so many games led many to question Jones’ future with the team.
Aaron Jones Set a Green Bay Packers Record to End the Season
Jones returned from his damaged knee in Week 16, and the Packers needed to win their last three regular-season games to qualify for the NFL Playoffs. They won all three (against the Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, and Chicago Bears), with Aaron Jones totaling 127, 120, and 111 rushing yards, respectively.
In the playoffs, Jones rushed for 118 yards (and three touchdowns) against the Dallas Cowboys and 108 yards in the Packers’ loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
It was the first time in the Packers’ 100-year history that a player had rushed for 100 yards or more in five straight games.
Aaron Jones Talks Like He Will Be Back with the Green Bay Packers Next Season
Jones’ run of five consecutive 100-yard games proved that he is still a vital part of the offense. Indeed, the Packers played on a higher level when he was on the field. Their success has convinced many that he will be back next season with a reworked contract to lower his $17 million salary cap hit.
Jones, too, seems to believe that he will be “back with the Pack” next season based on comments he made to Larry McCarren in an interview on the Packers’ website:
“I feel like what we’re building here is special. You can feel it. You can see it. The chemistry, the bond, the standard that we’ve set. I feel like with the standard that we’ve set, we know what our expectations are when we come back next year. We have no reason not to reach that standard every day because we’ve shown that we can do it this year, and we’ve shown that we can do it game after game after game, we can put it together. I feel like we’re going to be
“We” is a great indicator that Jones intends to return next season. If this were not the case, he would have stated “they” instead. Jones famously accepted a $5 million salary cut to stay with the team this season, and he appears to be willing to go to any length to avoid becoming a cap casualty again.
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