The 2024 Green Bay Packers running back room looks very different Thursday than it did at the start of the NFL's legal tampering portion of free agency on Monday.
It appeared as though the Packers were adding former Las Vegas Raiders All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs to be a Pro Bowl one-two punch with longtime Green Bay running back and team leader Aaron Jones. Instead, negotiations between the team and Jones fell apart, leading to his release roughly an hour after news broke of the Jacobs addition. Jacobs' four-year, $48 million contract with the Packer became official Thursday, as did Jones signing a one-year, $7 million deal with the NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings.
It appeared as though Jones' understudy, running back AJ Dillon -- nicknamed "Quadzilla" because of his 6-foot, 247-pound frame -- was set to depart as well, but he'll actually return to the Packers, according to NFL Media. Dillion, a 2020 second-round pick out of Boston College, has totaled 2,428 rushing yards and and 16 rushing touchdowns on 597 career carries in four seasons. He registered a career-low 3.4 yards per carry in 2023, the first time he averaged less than four yards a run, while also tying a career-low in rushing touchdowns (two, also done his rookie year in 2020).
Unless the Packers draft a running back in the first days of the 2024 NFL Draft, expect Dillon to remain in a similar role he has filled his entire career with Green Bay: a short-yardage bruiser who serves as a reliever for the team's Pro Bowl lead back.
