The Packers had an unexpectedly great season in year one after Aaron Rodgers. Another Aaron sees a very bright future for the team.
“I feel like… What we're building here is something special“, running back Aaron Jones He told Packers.comVia NFL.com. “You can feel it. You can see it. The chemistry, the bond, the standard we set. I feel like with the standard we set, we know what our expectations are when we come back next year. Our level is high. We have no reason not to reach that level every day because we've shown that “We can do it this year, we showed we can do it game after game, and we can put it together. I feel like we're going to be dangerous. We're going to be special.”
He's absolutely right, especially with the development of midfielder Jordan Love and an excellent young passing group.
“This is a special team,” [as] private [a] “A group of guys I've been around,” Jones said. “We defied expectations. No one expected we would make the playoffs, let alone the second round of the playoffs. I feel like it was a great building block for us.”
He's right. But there is a hitch. Jones enters the final year of his contract with a non-guaranteed base salary of $11.1 million. Remember the conversation last summer about bringing back salaries? Jones would be one of the veterans at risk of being replaced by someone younger, cheaper and more valuable dollar-for-dollar to the team.
However, the 29-year-old Jones believes he has plenty of gas left in the tank, even though he rushed for 656 yards in 11 regular-season games in 2023.
“I think I age like wine,” Jones said. “I'm getting better as time goes by. I feel like I've just entered my peak.”
This is fine, but we know that this is not how a bear market works. Advanced age, bloated salaries, and declining production can turn even the best bottle of wine into vinegar.
