BREAKING NEWS: Unexpectedly, the Green Bay Packers Re-Sign an Offensive Starter Who Was Thought to Be Gone in Free Agency

This offseason, the Green Bay Packers are undergoing a lot of change. Joe Barry, the defensive coordinator for 2021–2023; in his place is former Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley. Although star safety Xavier McKinney has committed to the Green and Gold for the next four seasons, Darnell Savage will play for the Jacksonville Jaguars for the next three. After agreeing to a four-year, $48 million contract with the Packers on Thursday, Josh Jacobs will be their starting back.

Sadly, it also means that Aaron Jones, the team’s third-all-time leading rusher, is no longer with them. He inked a contract with the Minnesota Vikings, the bitter division foe of Green Bay. Given the uncertainty surrounding Jacobs’ backup, the Packers chose to go to AJ Dillon, a player who many believed to be gone at the end of the season.

Running back is re-signing with the Green Bay Packers. AJ Dillon
Running back for the Green Bay Packers AJ Dillon

The Packers and NFL Network’s Tom Peliserro announced on X (formerly Twitter) that the team had decided to return its 2020 second-round pick for the 2024 campaign.

Many believed that Jones, not Dillon, would be wearing the Packers uniform in 2023 when the season finished. But in order to conserve money on the salary ceiling, the front office wanted Jones to take a 50% pay cut; however, Jones refused, and he was let go.

The Packers determined that having a seasoned player who is familiar with their playbook as Jacobs’ running partner would be ideal since there are an increasing number of free agent running backs leaving the game.

Is AJ Dillon’s Best Served Yet to Come?

One of the few running back duos to record over 1,000 yards from scrimmage in a single season was Jones and Dillon in 2020. Dillon missed out on reaching 1,000 all-purpose yards in 2021—many people view it as a bad year for him—by just 24 yards. Due to his meager 836 all-purpose yards from the previous season, many people assumed he wouldn’t be re-signed.

But it’s important to keep in mind what the Packers offense faced the prior two seasons. They were using Davante Adams for the first time in 2022, and their top wide receiver was Allen Lazard. Furthermore, they were using rookie wide receivers, whom Rodgers occasionally flatly refused to cooperate with, which caused a problem with the team’s chemistry.

Jordan Love made his starting debut last season, and although the offense improved at the conclusion of the campaign, it remained unappealing for the majority of the year. Particularly, Dillon was compelled to start more games than he ought to have because Jones missed time throughout the season due to three separate injuries.

Dillon should become much more effective if he receives a genuine backup share of the carries, especially after Jacobs has caused injuries to defenders.