The Green Bay Packers backfield will be entirely different in 2024.
Running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon have been the two top backs in Green Bay since the latter was selected 62nd overall (second round) in the 2020 NFL Draft. Now, both may have played their last snap as Packers. Green Bay placed Dillion, the six foot, 247-pound back affectionately know as “Quadzilla” by Packers fans, on injured reserve with a neck injury and they didn’t designate him to return. That means his 2024 season is over before it even got started. Jones signed a one-year, $7 million deal with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason.
It’s a huge blow for Dillon, who re-signed with the Packers on a one-year, $1.3 million contract this offseason, since the 26-year-old back won’t have a chance to hold his ground in their running back rotation. He has run for 2,428 yards and 16 touchdowns on 597 carries in four seasons, and he averaged a career-low 3.4 yards per carry in 2023 after rushing for 613 yards and two touchdowns on 178 carries.
Green Bay selected USC running back MarShawn Lloyd 88th overall (third round) in the 2024 NFL Draft in April, and they signed 2022 rushing champion running back Josh Jacobs to a four-year, $48 million deal in free agency this offseason. There’s a chance Dillon could return in 2025, but for now he will be working his way back to health on the sidelines for the entirety of the 2024 season.