One of the more surprising moves that came out of free agency occurred in Green Bay where the Packers effectively swapped veteran Aaron Jones for former Raiders running back Josh Jacobs. The club went out and signed Jacobs to a four-year, $48 million contract after having failed negotiations with Jones, who was subsequently released.
"It kind of caught me off guard, to be honest with you," LaFleur said of the running back swap from the NFL Annual League Meeting last week, via the Wisconsin State Journal. "There were some other things in play, obviously with Aaron Jones, and I didn't quite know how everything was going to go. It just happened really fast on that Monday."
Jones had a $17 million salary cap charge for the upcoming 2024 season. The club reportedly went to Jones to ask for a pay cut to reduce that number, which his side declined and ultimately led to the end of his time in Green Bay.
"We asked him to take a pay cut, and as we went through that process, we kind of realized it wasn't going to probably come to fruition," said GM Brian Gutekunst. "Obviously, we had to do what's in the best interest of the football team -- and that's what we did."
While Gutekunst does run the personnel department, it is a bit curious to see LaFleur seemingly out of the loop when it comes to getting rid of a player who rushed for over 100 yards in each of his last five games to end the 2023 season.
"It happened really fast, so I don't know all the details of that," LaFleur said. "I'm not involved in those types of conversations. But we were super excited (to get Jacobs)."
Jones did land on his feet following his release from the Packers as he quickly signed on with the rival Minnesota Vikings, meaning he'll remain in the NFC North and take on his former club twice during the regular season.
