The Green Bay Packers may have a veteran in mind if free agent Aaron Jones doesn’t return in 2021.
According to ESPN’s Dianna Russini, there is some buzz that the Packers would be interested in losing Chris Carson if they lose Jones to free agency.
“Chris Carson is a name I’ve heard buzzing when Aaron Jones doesn’t come back,” Russini said on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
Jones, a first-time Pro Bowler in 2020, is expected to be coveted as one of the best offensive free agents available when the new competition year kicks off later this month. If the Packers don’t tag him in the franchise or agree to a long-term deal before the start of free agency, Jones will likely leave Green Bay and find a lucrative multi-year deal in the open market.
Carson, who rushed to 3,270 yards and scored 28 touchdowns in 45 games during his first four NFL seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, could help the Packers fill a Jones-sized gap by running back.
Pro Football Focus recently selected Carson as the perfect free agent match for the Packers.
Hidden away in Seattle, Carson has been one of the top runners in the league for the past few seasons, being among the top 10 running backs in each of the previous three seasons and ranked third among the running backs on yards after contact per. attempt (3.4) in those years, ”wrote Seth Galina from PFF.
Carson rushed for more than 1,100 yards in both 2018 and 2019. He scored a total of nine touchdowns in each of the past three years, although he has also fumbled eleven times in his career.
Carson is a tough runner with a career average of 4.6 meters and a capable receiver from the backfield. He fits the profile of a player who could play the part of Aaron Jones in the Packers attack. And while Jones is going to find a lucrative market in free agency, it’s possible that Carson will eventually turn into a bargain.
A running back tandem from Carson and AJ Dillon could be effective and cost efficient.
Signing Carson into free-agency would likely mean the Packers lose both Jones and Jamaal Williams, who have combined more than 2,000 yards in total over the past two seasons.