Even Matt LaFleur needed to catch his breath after the Packers’ dizzying game of musical chairs in NFL free agency.
The Packers coach reflected on the team’s offseason moves and said the team’s decision to cut running back Aaron Jones to make room for former Raider Josh Jacobs was unexpected.
“To be honest, it kind of caught me off guard,” LaFleur said at the league’s annual meeting last week. Via Wisconsin State Journal.
“Obviously there were some other things going on with Aaron Jones, so I had no idea how everything was going to go. It really happened that quickly that Monday.”
As the legal tampering period for NFL free agency began in March, the Packers quietly entered the active running back market, agreeing to terms on a four-year, $48 million contract with Jacobs.
Jones, who had 226 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the Packers’ two postseason games, was told just before he was released.
He was reportedly asked to take a pay cut, but he refused.
Jones spent the past seven seasons with the Packers and was selected in the fifth round (182nd overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.
He later signed a one-year, $7 million contract with the Vikings, who are in the quarterback market after veteran Kirk Cousins left for the Falcons in free agency.
The Packers will face Jones twice a year as he remains in the NFC North.
Jacobs, a first-round pick of the Raiders in 2019, played in 13 games last year and rushed for 805 yards and six touchdowns on 233 carries.
He will now be paired with quarterback Jordan Love, who is in his first year of success as the Packers’ starter, leading them to a wild-card victory over the Cowboys and then moving on to the divisional 49ers. suffered a crushing defeat. round.
