Grading the Packers' first moves of 2024 free agency

Replacing Aaron Jones with Josh Jacobs: B

At the risk of being too caught up in the moment, Green Bay releasing Jones was maybe one of the more shocking moves of the first day? Jones is getting pretty close to 30, but was still plenty productive in the 11 games he played in last year – 2023 wasn't his best year by any means, but he still averaged 4.6 yards per attempt, had a 62% success rate on runs, and was on pace for roughly the same amount of receptions (and targets) that he had in 2022.

Maybe that's life when you're an "older" running back now, or play for a front office that knows that it's usually better to make this move too early than too late, but that doesn't make it sting any less for Packers fans. And if he ends up in Minnesota, like early reports indicate he might, that'd be all the more tough to swallow.

Meanwhile, the youngest team in the NFL got significantly younger today. To give you a sense of why they made the move, consider this fun fact: Jacobs is three years younger than Jones, has played two less seasons, and is only 395 yards behind Jones in career rushing yards.

His 2023 stats aren't much better than Jones, but he also only played in 13 games and the Raiders were a mess. He undeniably has more potential than Jones for 2024, but cutting a beloved veteran and then signing a younger player to the exact same contract they signed you to three years ago is about as loud of a "the NFL is a business" move as we saw all day.