Packers bring back Aaron Jones, but was it the right move?

The Green Bay Packers made some major news on Sunday, bringing back star running back Aaron Jones for the next several years.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Packers and Jones came to an agreement of four years, $48 million total.

This means Jones will be making an average salary of $12 million over the next four years.

Was this an overpay by the Packers? Possibly. I and many others thought that Jones would find himself on a new team next season. Partially because of my own philosophy on paying running backs, and due to the Packers’ cap constraints this offseason.

The Packers have been creative in this short offseason. Restructuring the contracts of Preston Smith and David Bakhtiari has been crucial to creating cap space. That cap space just helped lock up their franchise back for the next four years.

I feel that a lot of the fanbase is split on this one. Everybody loves Jones as a player and the value that he brings as a dual-threat back can’t be stated enough. However, it’s been shown time and time again that paying running backs can be bad business.

Jones has absolutely been a great back for Green Bay over the past few years but we all know how short a running back’s shelf life is in the NFL. Jones is now locked up through his age 30 season, he will also be an eight-year veteran by the time his deal is over.

So was this a mistake by the Packers to pay Aaron Jones?

I think that you can argue for both sides here. Over the last two years, Jones has proven to be a legitimate number one back. He showed promise under former head coach Mike McCarthy but he really took his game to the next level under Matt LaFleur.

Under LaFleur’s scheme, Jones not only went over the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in 2019 but he also showed his worth as one of the best receiving backs in the league. This is what I feel separates him from other backs.

Half-backs with Jones’ ability to catch the ball are hard to come by and it makes it easier to justify making the decision to pay the man. I guess it depends on your own philosophy when it comes to how to feel about the move.

While I personally probably wouldn’t have brought back Jones, the Packers are in the middle of an all-in scenario, and keeping a truly elite running back will help you achieve the ultimate goal.