Packers 2024 Off-Season Thread

[LouisEly]

Aaron Jones signed a 4 year, $48M contract in 2021 w/GB ($13M signing bonus, the only guaranteed $).  He didn't see the last year of that contract, just as it is very unlikely that Jacobs sees year 4 of his 4 year, $48M contract.

[homer]

34 minutes ago, BrewerFan said:

No, he's not. At BEST you could argue when healthy Jones and Jacobs are both pretty good and give a slight edge to Jones, but he is 30 and was declining...as RBs do at 30. Not the best guy to add years to. 

I'll wait to see how much Jacobs got GTD before...grading this deal, but definitely not a big downgrade. 

Again, you could say it was the coach, scheme, O line, etc. etc. but he was bad in 2023. I don't think we can just skip that and pretend he's coming off 2022. I hope I am wrong and he does look like he did in 2022. But he had 340 carries that season. That kind of workload can shorten a career.

Had we kept Jones + Jacobs I'd be happy as a clam. Reduced workload for both of them? forget about it. As it stands, I'll wait and see if Jones still has a 2022 in him.

[LouisEly]

12 minutes ago, homer said:

Again, you could say it was the coach, scheme, O line, etc. etc. but he was bad in 2023. I don't think we can just skip that and pretend he's coming off 2022.

And QB, or lack thereof.  Teams weren't scheming to stop Aiden O'Connell or Brian Hoyer.

[BrewerFan]

1 minute ago, LouisEly said:

And QB, or lack thereof.  Teams weren't scheming to stop Aiden O'Connell or Brian Hoyer.

He also showed up to camp late as he was holding out due to the franchise tag. 

Jones went out with a bang...but he's 30 and was due 12M. I'd love to have him back...but I don't think anyone would be clamoring to sign him at 12M a year. 

I loved Aaron Jones and again, he brought intangibles to this offense. We're also trying to build for this next window that is just opening right now. It makes sense to get younger, especially at that position.

[Joseph Zarr]

5 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

And QB, or lack thereof.  Teams weren't scheming to stop Aiden O'Connell or Brian Hoyer.

[Joseph Zarr]

We can all have our differing opinions on Jacobs. BUT, as a West Coast person I got to see plenty of the Raidahhhhs. When he is healthy, he is absolutely elite. Plus, Oakland was entirely boring with how they used him as a pass catcher. This just in: he's a very good pass catcher with very good hands. This is essentially a 1 year $14.5 Million prove it deal with 3 club options tacked on. That's how I view it, at least. If we get a healthy Jacobs, this is a big get. Extremely sad to see a Packers legend go in Jones. Very excited they have a back as good as Jacobs to fill that bill immediately. Especially if I consider we nabbed the best cover safety in the League.

[BrewerFan]

1 hour ago, LouisEly said:

Aaron Jones signed a 4 year, $48M contract in 2021 w/GB ($13M signing bonus, the only guaranteed $).  He didn't see the last year of that contract, just as it is very unlikely that Jacobs sees year 4 of his 4 year, $48M contract.

I'd be absolutely thrilled if Jacobs GTD money was just 13(or say 13 SB and then the first two years are GTD at 3 and 5M). 

I like the signing...to a point. I have to think if they were going to go and give a guy 20M+ GTD, Barkley would have been a target as well...despite the fact he was likely always going back to PA to play. 

[BrewerFan]

1 hour ago, Joseph Zarr said:

This is essentially a 1 year $14.5 Million prove it deal with 3 club options tacked on. That's how I view it, at least. If we get a healthy Jacobs, this is a big get. Extremely sad to see a Packers legend go in Jones. Very excited they have a back as good as Jacobs to fill that bill immediately. Especially if I consider we nabbed the best cover safety in the League.

I just saw what he got. 12.5 GTD? That's an awesome deal and...keeps him motivated. 

This was...an ideal day. You now made Safety and RB positions you can fill in the top 100 IF there is a guy available who jumps off the board, a Brooks, or...whoever. 

The balance between now and the future is one that Gutey is walking very well. 

Still think a Jordan Whitehead signing would be the icing on the cake.

 

[OldHeidelberg]

30 minutes ago, BrewerFan said:

I just saw what he got. 12.5 GTD? That's an awesome deal and...keeps him motivated. 

This was...an ideal day. You now made Safety and RB positions you can fill in the top 100 IF there is a guy available who jumps off the board, a Brooks, or...whoever. 

The balance between now and the future is one that Gutey is walking very well. 

Still think a Jordan Whitehead signing would be the icing on the cake.

 

So Runyon got 17 million and Jacoby got 12.5? That’s just nuts. I agree great deal, he moves right into Jones’ salary slot and not a lot of long term risk if he doesn’t pan out.

[Joseph Zarr]

Very

good

RB

[Joseph Zarr]

 

[Jimbo]

19 hours ago, Joseph Zarr said:

When I think of devastating career altering Packers injuries, I think of Nick Collins, Terence Murphy, and now David Bakhtiari. Should I add Chad Clifton in there? All incredible talents. All suffering injury fates all too soon in their careers. Bakh is a Real One. I'm going to miss him and his fantastic personality. Another middle round Packer O-Lineman steal. I still remember the rookie Training Camp reports on Bakh. What a fantastic Packer.

Tim Lewis

Eddie Lee Ivory

[homer]

13 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

He also showed up to camp late as he was holding out due to the franchise tag. 

Jones went out with a bang...but he's 30 and was due 12M. I'd love to have him back...but I don't think anyone would be clamoring to sign him at 12M a year. 

I loved Aaron Jones and again, he brought intangibles to this offense. We're also trying to build for this next window that is just opening right now. It makes sense to get younger, especially at that position.

He signed a $7 million one-year deal with the Vikings. Kinda ticks me off they couldn't work something out in that range but Rosenhaus gonna Rosenhaus.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

1/7 and the Packers couldn't do that? Seems like a dumb move to me honestly. Unless they were seeking more assurances from GB I can't believe they valued him less than that. Hope this doesn't backfire. 

[homer]

2 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

1/7 and the Packers couldn't do that? Seems like a dumb move to me honestly. Unless they were seeking more assurances from GB I can't believe they valued him less than that. Hope this doesn't backfire. 

I get that it's better to move on a year too early than a year too late but it still seems like they could have made it work for a season with both Jones and Jacobs unless Rosenhaus completely overestimated his value and was asking for the moon.

[Fear The Chorizo]

1 hour ago, homer said:

I get that it's better to move on a year too early than a year too late but it still seems like they could have made it work for a season with both Jones and Jacobs unless Rosenhaus completely overestimated his value and was asking for the moon.

I think MN is a terrible spot for Jones, tbh....not just because I'll throw up a little in my mouth every time I see him in a purple helmet with horns on it - they were near the bottom of the league in rushing yards and rushing attempts last season, despite playing a bunch of their games with garbage QBs after Cousins went down.  He'll give their run game a burst, but I think their line and scheme isn't a great fit for what Jones excels at - assuming their QB position is going to be a net negative in 2024 (Darnold plus a round 1 rookie QB who will be clipboard holding through most of the year). 

Initial take to this deal - if Jones is healthy, he'll be traded before the in-season deadline because I think the Vikings are on the verge of a trainwreck of a season.

[Matt Breen]

I think Lafleur - and to an extent, Gute - are enamored with the idea of how Tennessee ran their offense circa 2018-19 (Lafleur was OC in 2018). Lafleur loved having a big back to pound the ball 20 times and wear down defenses. I think they envisioned Dillon playing that role in GB - and he did to an extent. But he simply doesn't have the ability - or durability - of Henry. 

Come 2024 and Jacobs is available as a FA. If you look at Jacobs 2022 season - that's about as close as you get to the glory years of Derrick Henry in Tennessee. 20 carries a game, nearly five yards a pop. And as people have pointed out, the kind of guy that pounded between the tackles. And a solid receiver. 

MLF and Gute saw that and basically said - that's what we want. It will work awesome with Jordan Love. 

The team went out and got the guy they think will elevate the offense. Jacobs fit perfectly into what the offensive brain trust wanted. And thus they got Jacobs and let Jones go.

Now, was this all a good move is another story. I'm just saying that I think the team felt Jacobs offered them the guy they think will fit the offense perfectly. Jones is great, I'm sure they will say, but he's not on Jacobs' level as a dominant ball carrier. Thus, 'thank you, Aaron, here's the door.' 

Again, was that a good idea - who knows. It might be that the club was concerned about Jones' age and ability to carry a large workload. The team certainly suffered when he was gone. 

Of course, Jacobs had his own injuries last season. And while younger, he's ran the ball more times than Jones in his career. And his 2023 numbers were nothing like 2022. Let's hope that's an aberration - caused by awful QB play and bad offensive line. 

 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I think Jones was better in GB than he'll be anywhere else. I think that Jacobs is probably an upgrade but this could end up like the "upgrade" of Jared Cook to Martellus Bennett.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

2 hours ago, homer said:

I get that it's better to move on a year too early than a year too late but it still seems like they could have made it work for a season with both Jones and Jacobs unless Rosenhaus completely overestimated his value and was asking for the moon.

It certainly would not be the first time that ole' Drew did that, hanging his client out to dry in the process. He always seems to be the common denominator whenever relationships between a player and a team's upper management sour.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

15 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

I think Jones was better in GB than he'll be anywhere else. I think that Jacobs is probably an upgrade but this could end up like the "upgrade" of Jared Cook to Martellus Bennett.

Bennett was actually older and not nearly the athlete Cook was. He was thought to be more durable, though. Jacobs is 3 1/2 years younger than Jones (which is an eternity in RB years), and has been more durable. He's also every bit the athlete Jones is, with perhaps a little more power, sacrificing a bit of wiggle.

[CheezWizHed]

1 hour ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

I think Jones was better in GB than he'll be anywhere else. I think that Jacobs is probably an upgrade but this could end up like the "upgrade" of Jared Cook to Martellus Bennett.

Woof... that was a train wreck. Bennett didn't last the season with the Pack and only played a couple games with the Pats and that was his last season.

Cook played 5 years post-Packers.  Two of them where he made the Pro Bowl. 

[homer]

 

[LouisEly]

11 minutes ago, homer said:

 

 

Keep in mind, the Vikings couldn't make that offer until after Jones was released.  When the Packers offered, it was the Packers offer or get released - no other teams to compete with.

Once Jones was released, it was the Vikings versus any/every other team's offer so the Vikings - if they really wanted him - had to buck up the offer to ensure that they made a better offer than anyone else.  Thus why free agents often get overpaid - they're competing blindly against everyone else.

Teams never know what other teams are offering or will offer.   Even if a player is a FA, I'd be willing to bet that almost if not every offer has a NDA attached to it.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

12 minutes ago, homer said:

 

 

I don't blame the Packers for their valuation of Jones, and I don't blame Jones for choosing to move on. It's a cutthroat business. The RB position is a young man's job, and RBs pushing 30 traditionally decline quickly. The PR end of it sucks. But the sting typically subsides pretty quick. 

[OldHeidelberg]

Nixon back 3 yrs/18 million. I hope they plan on him paying safety.