Sports
Aaron Jones staying with Packers on 4-year, $48 million deal
Pro Bowl running back Aaron Jones has agreed to a new deal with the Green Bay Packers and won’t be exploring free agency.
Drew Rosenhaus, Jones’ agent, confirmed that his client had agreed on a four-year deal worth $48 million that includes a $13 million signing bonus.
“We anticipated bigger offers in free agency, but Aaron wanted to stay with the Packers,” Rosenhaus said via email.
The 26-year-old Jones tweeted a picture of himself in a Packers uniform with the message “Let’s run it back #GoPackGo” on Sunday.
The move removes one of the biggest names from the market at the start of a week in which NFL teams can begin negotiating with free agents. The Packers faced the possibility of having both of their top two running backs — Jones and Jamaal Williams — leaving via free agency in the same offseason.
Green Bay instead will have Jones back to lead a rushing attack that also will feature A.J. Dillon, a 2020 second-round pick from Boston College, even if Williams heads elsewhere.
Jones rushed for 1,104 yards and nine touchdowns and also caught 47 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns last season. That came after a 2019 season in which he had 16 touchdown runs and three touchdown catches.
Jones and Jim Brown are the only players in NFL history to rush for at least 3,000 yards and 35 touchdowns while averaging at least 5 yards per carry over their first four seasons. The 2017 fifth-round pick from UTEP is one of only three players to rush for at least 2,000 yards and 25 touchdowns over the past two seasons, joining Tennessee’s Derrick Henry and Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook.
Now that Green Bay has signed Jones, the Packers’ top remaining free agents are All-Pro center Corey Linsley, cornerback Kevin King and Williams. The Packers have posted a 13-3 regular-season record and have lost in the NFC championship game each of the past two years.
More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
