Green Bay Packers: 15 best free agent acquisitions of all-time

Best free agent acquisitions in Green Bay Packers history: 11. Sean Jones

Sean Jones was a former second-round pick by the then-Los Angeles Raiders out of Northeastern back in 1984. He had a career-high 15.5-sack season as a member of the 1986 Raiders. Two years later, he would be shipped to the then-Houston Oilers for the No. 9 overall pick in the 1988 NFL Draft. The Raiders used that pick from Houston to select perennial Pro Bowl cornerback Terry McDaniel out of Tennessee.

While with the Oilers, Jones had his best seasons as a professional. From 1988 to 1993, Jones had 57.5 quarterback sacks. Three times did he go over 10.0 in a season with the Oilers. He made his only trip to the Pro Bowl as part of the infamous 1993 Oilers team. Houston failed to get it done in the AFC Playoffs and then-owner Bud Adams blew the whole thing up.

The Oilers’ fire sale of elite football talent was beneficial to many NFL franchises in 1994. NFL football would only be in Houston for three more years before the franchise relocated to Tennessee ahead of the 1997 NFL season.

But before the Oilers made their way to their temporary home of Memphis, Jones continued his pass-rushing prowess for three years with Green Bay. He signed as a free agent with the Packers to play opposite of Reggie White on the Green Bay defensive line.

Jones amassed 24.5 quarterback sacks playing defensive end for the Packers from 1994 to 1996, including a 10.5 campaign in 1994. He came to Green Bay at the absolute perfect time for so many reasons.

First, Jones got to play the role of No. 2 pass rusher when he still could have been a team’s No. 1. This is because White was still in his prime with Green Bay, albeit certainly on the back-nine of his illustrious Pro Football Hall of Fame career.

Second, Brett Favre was in MVP form on the opposite side of the ball for the Packers. The Mississippi gunslinger would become increasingly reckless in the 2000s, but he was at the peak of his powers in the mid-1990s in Mike Holmgren’s Green Bay offense.

Lastly, this was still in the beginning stages of the salary cap era of the NFL. It was new, exciting and still en vogue for even historically conservative teams like the Packers in terms of team-building. Getting a known pass-rushing commodity was a no-brainer decision for the Packers to make in 1994. Still can’t believe Adams blew up the Oilers when he did.

All the while, Jones would be part of the third Super Bowl championship team in Green Bay history. He retired after the 1996 NFL season as a Super Bowl champion. Green Bay defeated Bill Parcells’ New England Patriots handedly in Super Bowl XXXI.

The only thing knocking Jones from being higher up on this list is he played for the Packers for just three seasons. Though never a Pro Bowler in Green Bay, Jones was a Second-Team All-Pro in both 1994 and 1995. It certainly helped that he played opposite of an all-timer like White. Regardless, this was a game-changing pickup for the Packers in 1994 NFL free agency.