When the Green Bay Packers ran out of patience with Eddie Lacy after a couple of productive rushing but frustrating dietary seasons, then General Manager Ted Thompson took three swings at finding a successor in the 2017 draft. 4th, 5th and 6th round picks were spent on running backs. BYU’s Jamaal Williams came first, Devante Mays of Utah State was last and the middle pick was Aaron Jones of UTEP.
Williams actually led the team in rushing his rookie season with 556 yards while Jones was second, about a hundred fewer yards behind on 40 percent fewer carries. He averaged 5.5 a carry to Williams’ 3.6. Aaron’s explosive big play ability got the attention of Head Coach Mike McCarthy and it earned him increasing snaps in each subsequent season. It led to a team-high 728 rushing yards and 29 receptions in 2018.
When the change was made to Matt LaFleur, Jones’ talents became an even more focal point of the offensive plan. Back-to-back thousand-yard seasons, a more than just a check down passing game threat and touchdowns by the boatloads.
His first Pro Bowl wrapped up his first professional contract and a big payday was beckoning as an unrestricted free agent.
But the day before players could start negotiating with other teams, the Packers and Jones agreed on a four-year, $48 million deal. It included a $13 million signing bonus and $1 million base salaries over the first two years. It took almost two weeks for Jones to get medical checks, travel and other details worked out but the player with the Twitter handle @Showtyme_33, returned to Green Bay on Friday to officially sign the new deal.
Needless to say, Showtyme was all smiles.
Aaron Jones meets the zoom media Friday.
Jones visited with reporters virtually for 15 minutes to talk about his first four years in Green Bay, his new deal and what the future might hold. For Aaron, it was important to stay right where it began.
The numbers speak for themselves. Jones has piled up more than 3000 yards rushing, averaging better than 5 yards a carry with at least 35 rushing touchdowns in his first four seasons. The only other NFL player to do that? Hall of Famer Jim Brown. Jones eclipsed 2000 yards with 25 touchdowns in the past two years joining Derrick Henry and Dalvin Cook with those numbers, equaling a feat Packer great Jim Taylor accomplished back in 1962-63.
The Packers also formally announced the Kevin King contract heading into the weekend. King returns on a one-year, $6 million deal. The second round (and top pick) of the Packers in that same 2017 draft that landed the running backs, has played in 41 career games with 23 starts in his career. But he’s missed 23 games with injuries during his first four seasons. In his healthiest season in 2019, King led the team with five interceptions. He didn’t pick off a single pass in 2020, playing in 11 regular-season games. King had a tough day against Tampa Bay in the NFC championship game giving up a pair of scoring passes including the back-breaking 39 yarder right before halftime. By re-signing King, the Packers will keep their young secondary of Jaire Alexander, Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage intact for new defensive coordinator Joe Barry.
