EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Former UTEP football star and Burges High School grad Aaron Jones is expected to sign a one-year, $7 million deal with the Minnesota Vikings, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic. Russini adding Jones’ agents Drew Rosenhaus and Ryan Matha confirmed the deal.
Jones’ move to the Vikings for the 2024 season comes after the Green Bay Packers released him on Monday. Earlier in the day, the Packers also landed NFL star running back free agent Josh Jacobs, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapport and Tom Pelissero.
According to Rapoport, Jones’ release came after talks on a new deal for the 2024 season broke down.
According to Matt Schneidman and Russini of The Athletic, the Packers wanted Jones to take “almost a 50-percent pay cut, if not more” for the final year of his deal in 2024.
“Negotiations between the Packers and agent Drew Rosenhaus to lower Jones’ number started before the NFL Scouting Combine but did not make much progress over the following two weeks,” Schneidman and Russini explained. “The week after the combine, the two sides got slightly closer but were still far apart late in the week. The Packers presented their final offer to Jones’ camp, which they declined last Friday.”
Jones was originally set to make $12 million in salary and bonuses in 2024 and had a salary cap north of $17 million. The Packers wanted to cut those numbers significantly, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
Jones quoted Demovsky’s tweet on his report with “every story has three sides to it.”
Jones avoided a pay cut for the second year in a row. Remember, Jones took a $5 million pay cut last season and was paid $11 million instead of $16 million.
Jones was the picked up by the Packers in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft and has spent the last seven seasons of his career in Green Bay. Jones is one of the best running backs in Packers franchise history as he ranked third in rushing yards, fourth in rushing touchdowns, and seventh in total touchdowns.
Once Jones finalizes the deal when NFL free agency officially starts on Wednesday, Jones will be a member of the Minnesota Vikings – the Green Bay Packers’ NFC North rival – in 2024. That means that Jones will get to play his former team twice in the regular season.
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