I’ll be honest, I didn’t even really know the deadline to franchise a player was yesterday until the text line posed the ‘Aaron Jones franchise tag’ question yesterday morning at about 7:30am. And the primary reason is because the Packers just don’t utilize that option. The last time they applied the franchise tag to any player was when they put it on Ryan Pickett back in 2010. 2010! The iPad had just been introduced in 2010. Gamestop was actually still relevant as a brick and mortar retail store and not only as a meme stock in 2010. People were tweeting things that would get them cancelled in 2021 in 2010. I had an active metabolism in 2010.
So I suppose the only reason that they would have franchised Jones was so that they could trade to another team where he could sign his new contract. The Packers will likely get a 4th round compensatory pick in next year’s draft when/if Jones signs elsewhere, but if they were to franchise him and trade him this year, they would get that pick right away in April. And there’s a chance it could have been a 2nd or 3rd round pick instead of a 4th rounder.
But that would have been the only reason to apply that tag to him. The franchise tag would have paid him $8 million dollars for the 2021 season, and there was no chance Drew Rosenhaus was going to let him risk injury and play for that amount of money. Which I don’t begrudge Jones or Rosenhaus for at all. The window for a running back to hit a big payday in the NFL is REAL small. In fact the odds are that this will be the only major deal that Jones signs in his career. So to risk an ACL injury, or blown Achilles, or a broken leg, for a 1 year/$8 million dollar deal makes no sense.
Adam Shefter did report that the Packers are still trying to work out a long term deal with Jones, and are in the running to do just that. But despite that report, it sort of feels like his time in Green Bay is over, doesn’t it? We’ve got a few beat reporters at our Green Bay stations, and the information they have is that the Packers have offered Jones a few different deals that would have made him a top 5 paid back in the league and they were rebuffed. I’m thinking it’s not likely that the Packers were holding back on a bigger offer just in case he rejected the first few. My guess is that Jones is looking for Dalvin Cook/Alvin Kamara money, likely a 4/5 year deal in the 55/65 million dollar range.
Now, as a fan of the Packers, I HOPE they can find a way to resign him, but with the Packers still about $10 million over the just announced $182.5 million dollar cap, the financials aren’t likely to work. But letting Jones walk is certainly a risk in terms of on-the-field production. He had some injury issues in his first two seasons, but has proven that he can stay relatively healthy since. And the guy is one of the rare ‘home run’ hitters in the league. Anytime he touches the ball, he could be gone. Anytime he catches the ball in space, he could take it to the house. In 4 seasons he’s piled up 3,364 yards on the ground (5.2 yards per carry), 1,057 yards on 131 receptions, and 43 total touchdowns. Those aren’t Mickey Mouse numbers. There’s no doubt the offense is better with a player like that on the field.
That said, there’s a reason that they drafted AJ Dillon in the 2nd round last year. Gutey knew that both Jones and Williams were entering the final year of their deals, and he acted early in last year’s draft to shore up that position. And it’s hard not to like what we saw of Dillon last season. He had the break out game against Tennessee, but really any time he got the ball he seemed to make plays. He’s clearly a different style of back when compared with Aaron Jones, one thigh is the size of Jones’ torso, but if Dillon is healthy and you give him 15-17 touches per game, I think it’s probable that he can put up similar numbers on the ground. Is he as good catching the ball as Jones? Probably not. But he’s also making $1.2 million next season, not $10 million.
If this is the end of the Jones-Era in Green Bay, he will be missed. Aside from his play on the field, he was just a humble, likeable guy. The touchdown shades last year were MINT.
And depending on what he does for the rest of his career, he will go down as one of the late Ted Thompson’s better draft picks. We’ll see what shakes down in the next few days.
PS: I’ve seen a lot of Packer fans advocating for resigning Jamaal Williams at a cheaper cost and pairing him up with Dillon next year as opposed to Jones. I don’t hate it. Williams is solid. He’s not the home run hitter that Jones is, but he’s good between the tackles, great at catching the ball in space, and PHENOMONAL at picking up blitzers trying to spear Aaron Rodgers. That last part might be his biggest value, honestly. But it would depend on price. Like Jones, Williams is also hoping to cash in. He’s not going to make Jones money, but I can see a team willing to overpay for him. If the Packers could get him on a 3 year deal in the 15-18 million range? Yeah, sign me up. Draft a smaller/quicker back early in the draft, and roll with Williams/Dillon and the rookie. But I’m not sure what the market for Williams looks like.
Double PS: Can’t wait for the Packers to ink Jones to a massive extension the second I click *publish* on this bad boy.
