For the 2023 NFL season, several teams have shed contracts with large salary cap implications, while others, including the Packers, have signed veteran starting pitchers to low-salary contracts.
Aaron Jones is under contract until 2024 and received a significant raise, which appears to have caused his performance to dip again. General manager Brian Gutekunst may end talk of Jones leaving Green Bay, saying (via The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman) that the Packers “absolutely” expect him to be back on the roster in 2024. Jones has been with the Packers since 2017 .
Of the 2017 RB draft class, only he, Alvin Kamara and Joe Mixon remain with the team that drafted them.Jones agreed in February to take a $5 million pay cut, including an $8.52 million signing bonus. The restructuring added grace years to veteran contracts and reduced the 2023 cap hit to $8.2 million. The cap number rises to $17 million in 2024, which could represent another move by the Packers to land a top RB deal.
Extending Jones would make sense because if he isn’t re-signed by the 2025 league year, the year out of his current contract would result in a $6.6 million cap hit.But teams no longer make a habit of re-entering after the age of 20. The Packers offered Jones a four-year, $48 million contract until he becomes a free agent in 2021, a turnaround after years of not paying him.
The NFL decided to primarily pressure RBs last year, which led to a further decline in the value of the position well past its prestige peak. Jones, 29, missed last season with MCL and hamstring issues. The injury caused the seven-year veteran to miss six games. But the UTEP alum was efficient when possible and finished the season strong.
The former fifth-round pick returned in Week 14 and finished the season with five consecutive 100-yard rushes. It counted twice in the playoffs when the Packers beat the Cowboys and upset the top-seeded 49ers six days later. Jones’ veteran presence has certainly helped a Packers team that relies on nothing but first- or second-year movers.
AJ Dillon is coming off a slow contract year and will be a free agent at a bad time. He would create a crowded RB market.Jones was released, a move that would have allowed the team to collect $12 million in dead money without him after the season. 1 title – sending him to a market that could house Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry, Austin Ekeler, Tony Pollard and D’Andre Swift.Dillon is unlikely to make a deal in this market. Losing Jones creates a huge need for the Packers, though they are in an easy position to fill.Meanwhile, Gutekunst tried to cool the Jair Alexander trade rumors.
The former Packers general manager said via Schneidman that a trade for Alexander is not being considered.After Alexander’s missed coin toss led to a one-game suspension, reports called the future of Wisconsin’s highly-paid cornerback into question. The Packers owe Alexander $8 million on the March 20 roster. The Packers gave Alexander a four-year, $84 million extension through 2022, which remains the highest AAV for a cornerback in the NFL.
However, the former first-round pick has missed significant time over the past three seasons due to injuries.Alexander has missed 10 games this year after missing most of the 2021 season with a shoulder ailment. This contract and his expensive contract reduced Alexander’s trade value. That said, Pro Football Focus ranks the six-year veteran as one of the top 25 prospects at the position this season.
