packerswire.usatoday.com
The NFL landscape has changed vastly in the aftermath of free agency,, with many surprising moves occurring. The Green Bay Packers historically operated with a financially safe and risk-free mindset, which was partially due to former quarterback Aaron Rodgers' gigantic contract. With Rodgers' contract no longer a factor, the normally frugal and cost-effective Packers shocked everyone when they signed running back Josh Jacobs to a four-year, $48 million contract.
Get ready Green Bay, @iAM_JoshJacobs is coming ? pic.twitter.com/1X2V3Ltyx3
The trickle effect of this move was Green Bay parting ways with fan favorite running back Aaron Jones, who then signed a one-year, $7 deal with the division rival Minnesota Vikings. As a Packers fan, it is bittersweet, but the Green Bay front office ultimately did what was best from a football and financial perspective. Jones was a vital piece for the Packers, rushing for 656 yards and two touchdowns in 2023. In the playoffs, Jones rushed for 226 yards and three touchdowns.
However, Jones is on the older side for running backs at 29 years old and was plagued with hamstring and knee injuries throughout the 2023 season. This led to him missing a career-high six games in 2023 after only missing four games in the previous four seasons.
Same division, new team. @Showtyme_33 is headed to Minnesota. #SKOL pic.twitter.com/13szieY4un
Jones' $17.6 cap hit for charge and $11.1 base salary, combined with his injury concerns, made it hard for the Packers to keep him given the circumstances. The team tried to restructure his deal but ultimately couldn't find a middle ground, leading to Jones' release. This led Green Bay to acquire the 26-year-old Jacobs, who is three years younger than Jones. Jacobs is a better fit for the team that entered the playoffs as the youngest team since the 1974 Buffalo Bills and became the youngest team to win a playoff game since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger.
Jacobs rushed for 805 yards and six touchdowns in 2023, which is better than Jones's regular season stats. In terms of missed games in 2023, the numbers are similar to those of Jacobs, who missed five games after missing ten in his first five seasons. The contract Jacobs signed with the Packers is also much more team-friendly than it first appears. The first year of the contract includes a $12.5 million bonus, a $1.2 million guaranteed base salary, a $600,000 offseason workout bonus, and up to $500,000 in per-game active roster bonuses, totaling roughly $14.8 million.
If things don’t work out this year, Green Bay can easily move on in 2025, as the second year of the contract entails a $5.93 million roster bonus, a $1.7 million base salary, and the same offseason workout and per-game active roster bonuses listed above, totaling $8.73 millon dollars. If he does stay past the second year of the contract, the total amount for Jacobs would be $11.5 million in 2026 and $13.5 million in 2027. The short translation of all these different numbers is that Green Bay gave Jacobs a very fancy one-year deal. After the first year, nothing is guaranteed, which makes it very team-friendly.
So now the question is if Jacobs's total production in 2023 is similar to Jones's (including playoffs), why would the Packers give him a protected one-year deal with outs and not Jones? The answer is Green Bay wanted to get younger, and they are banking on Jacobs to replicate his monstrous 2022 season. In 2022, Jacobs led the league in rushing with 1,653 yards and 12 touchdowns. That type of dominance at the running back position is not easy to find.
Nothing is absolute in sports, and this holds especially true in the NFL. After years of making cheaper additions with Rodgers' contract hanging over their heads, Green Bay is changing the narrative surrounding the organization by making major moves. At the same time, this team is young and very affordable. Adding Josh Jacobs will be the key to bringing the Lombardi trophy back to Green Bay.
