After Adam Schefter reported that the Minnesota Vikings informed running back Aaron Jones he will be released, the gears started to turn in the minds of many Green Bay Packers fans. Could a reunion be in store as a last hurrah in Jones’ career?
It’d be a sweet storyline, but it doesn’t make much sense for either side.
General manager Brian Gutekunst has made it very clear that Josh Jacobs will be the featured back in 2026. Of course, just a couple of years ago, Gutekunst said he’d love to have Jones back the following season, only to release him not long after.
At that time, Gutekunst noted a change in the landscape.
We weren’t able to come to an agreement that we thought we might be able to with Aaron, and then, quite frankly, some opportunities opened up that we didn’t expect as well. As hard as that is when you’re emotionally attached to a player like Aaron and everything he’s done for the club, you have to do what’s right for the Green Bay Packers … I feel I owe that to the organization.
As has been well documented, their disagreement concerned one pretty definitive issue: Jones’s unwillingness to take a massive pay cut. The Packers pivoted to Jacobs, and the rest is history.
While Gutekunst’s words about Jones were similar to what he said recently about Jacobs, it seems pretty safe to take Gutey at his word this time, given the context.
With the safe assumption that Jacobs will be back in 2026, Jones would be signing with Green Bay to be a backup at best. The Packers have to be itching to see what they have in their injury-prone prospect, MarShawn Lloyd, before deciding if they want to release him.
Lloyd was a third-round pick in 2024, and myriad injuries have kept him on the shelf for almost two full seasons. Whether or not he’ll be available has been the question that has defined his young career. However, if he’s finally back on his feet, he still has a strong chance to land the No. 2 role until further notice.
That would leave Jones with scraps. He’d only get significant opportunities if something happened to Jacobs and/or Lloyd in 2026. Why would he want to sign up for that in the final stretch of his career?
The Packers need depth at running back after non-tendering Emanuel Wilson‘s contract, given their inability to rely on Lloyd. The type of depth the Packers will be looking for is more likely to come from the later rounds of the draft. Aaron Jones will be turning 32 next year and isn’t in the prime of his career. He still has the résumé, and despite missing five games last year, he’ll want to be more than just a filler piece.
And then there’s the age factor. Even though a hypothetical reunion deal wouldn’t be a long-term commitment, the Packers have shown time and again that they don’t engage in signing free agents who are 30 or more years old. It’s just not part of their blueprint. The rare exceptions, like signing Julius Peppers at age 34, are truly exceptional. Two years ago, they viewed Jones as replaceable; another two years of wear-and-tear at a position with a notoriously brief shelf life doesn’t change that in any positive way.
Jacobs will be the bell cow, assuming he’s healthier in 2026 than he was in 2025. The Packers will likely give Lloyd every opportunity to battle for the No. 2 spot. The Packers need some depth beyond that as insurance, but from a veteran player with a more expensive contract and durability concerns of his own.
An Aaron Jones reunion sounds fun in theory, but it’s a square-peg, round-hole situation. Jones still has enough left to warrant a timeshare in another backfield at minimum. Waiting around in Green Bay for injury and no certainty that it will happen isn’t how he likely wants to spend the final stage of his career. Jones gave the Packers a ton of awesome years, but it’s best for all involved to leave that in the past.
