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Aaron Jones reacts to his departure from Packers, signing with Vikings: 'every story has 3 sides to it'

christopher kuhagen, milwaukee journal sentinel
·4 min read

When the Green Bay Packers' season ended general manager Brian Gutekunst said he "absolutely" wanted to have Aaron Jones back in 2024.

Jones, for his part, appearing on Kay Adams' "Up and Adams" show before the playoffs in January called the Packers "the best organization in the world" and that there's "nowhere else" he'd rather be.

Well, fast-forward to the second week of March and Jones is no longer a member of the Packers, a franchise he had spent his entire seven-year career with and where he became beloved for his contributions on and off the field.

He's now a member of the Minnesota Vikings.

So, what happened?

Contract negotiations appear to have broken down between the Packers and Jones' camp where Green Bay reportedly wanted the veteran running back to continue to take a pay cut in the final year of his contract.

He was due about $12 million in salary and bonuses next year on his contract with the Packers before any restructures. The Vikings are reportedly signing him to a one-year deal worth $7 million. According to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, the Packers wanted to cut Jones' original salary in half.

“It is certainly one of the hardest decisions we’ve had to make in my time with the Packers and not one taken lightly," Gutekunst said in a statement on Monday night after releasing Jones.

As stories are written about the fallout, Jones responded to one on ESPN with this: laughing and skull emojis with the text, "every story has 3 sides to it."

We'll likely hear more from Jones, a player who leaves with the third-most rushing yards in team history as well as third-most 100-yard games at 20 (a quarter of those games came in his last five as a Packer). And we'll hear more from Gutekunst as well.

But for now, how are Packers fans reacting to not only losing a fan favorite but to the Vikings?

Let us just say they're struggling to process it while also appreciating Jones for what he did while with the team. Many on X are also on his side vs. Packers management.

PACKERS KEY DATES: Franchise tag, free agency, trading period, owners meetings, NFL draft

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Packers Twitter reacts to Aaron Jones signing with Minnesota Vikings