The Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers are both in the middle of what many fans call “figure it out” years. The Packers are trying to see if Jordan Love is the quarterback of the future in Green Bay while the Steelers are trying to figure out the same about Kenny Pickett.
Both teams have young and exciting weapons surrounding their quarterbacks such as Christian Watson and George Pickens. However, could the teams be interested in trading other weapons they have at their disposal?
NFL Analyst Suggests The Green Bay Packers And Pittsburgh Steelers Could Swap Running Backs
Robert Marvi of NFL Analysis Network highlighted how this could go down:
Austin Krueger of FanSided feels it’s time for them to make at least one move before the Oct. 31 deadline in order to build for the future, and he feels that running back Aaron Jones may have to go for the good of their future.
“A fan favorite in Green Bay and a leader in the Packers’ locker room, trading Jones would be a heart-wrenching decision for the team,” wrote Krueger.
“… But, as they say, ‘the NFL is a business.’
“While dealing with a hamstring injury, Jones has only registered 14 rushing attempts in 2023. Meanwhile, the backups have looked unspectacular in his absence, drawing concerns about the future of AJ Dillon.
“Teams eyeing a running back upgrade to solidify a playoff push could take advantage of a lower price on Jones due to the injury concerns.”
Jones has been one of Green Bay’s biggest and most reliable offensive threats over the past few years. He ran for 1,121 yards last season, and he led the NFL with 16 rushing touchdowns back in 2019.
He has also been a dual-threat running back who has posted a total of 207 catches, 1,615 receiving yards and 16 receiving touchdowns over the last four seasons prior to this one.
He is nearing his 29th birthday, which means he’s also nearing the age of 30, which is when running backs historically experience a precipitous decline in their performance. Perhaps this would be a good time for the Packers to get the best return on him.
A good return could mean, at a minimum, a mid-round draft pick and a second or third-string running back. But Krueger surmised that if the Packers sweeten the pot with a draft pick of their own, perhaps they could land Rachaad White of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or even the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Najee Harris.
Harris would be a nice pickup, as he has run for over 1,000 yards in both of his previous NFL seasons while making the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2021.
Would The Green Bay Packers Ever Trade Aaron Jones?
The Packers have a record of 32-8 when Aaron Jones gets at least 15 touches in a game. That type of statistic is not only shocking, but shows how important Jones is to this team. At first glance Jones feels like one of the “untouchable” players on the Packers’ squad when it comes to a trade.
However, there are a lot of questions that will need to be answered during the 2024 off-season. Jones, who will turn 30 in December, is currently under contract through the 2024 season. His cap hit in 2024 will be more than $17 million.
Would Jones’ age combined with his cap hit next year be enough for the Packers to move on from him? It is doubtful that the team would get enough in return for Jones that would warrant a trade. He has proven to be invaluable to this offense and the running back market is horrendous for running backs currently.
This scenario does pose a serious question though. What are the Packers’ long-term plans at the position after both Jones an Dillon are gone?
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