While players in the locker room sound convinced Aaron Jones will return and play Thursday night against the Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur took a more measured approach when discussing the possible availability of his star running back in Week 4.
“We’ll see how he’s feeling tomorrow, but cautiously optimistic,” LaFleur said Tuesday.
Buy Packers TicketsJones has missed the last two games — a loss in Atlanta and last week’s win over New Orleans — after injuring his hamstring on a touchdown in Chicago in Week 1. He produced 127 yards and two scores on just 11 touches before suffering the injury in the season opener.
LaFleur said the Packers tried to get Jones back on the field last week vs. the Saints but he wasn’t quite there. The Packers have listed Jones as a limited participant at practice on Monday and Tuesday of this week.
“I don’t want to sacrifice one game for a longer period of time,” LaFleur said. “Until he’s cleared…we all want him out there, we know how valuable he is to our football team in so many aspects, but we want to make sure he’s able to protect himself and not be at further risk of injury,” LaFleur said.
Quarterback Jordan Love called Jones a “huge playmaker” and said his return would help make the Packers offense more “explosive.”
Without Jones the last two weeks, backup A.J. Dillon rushed 26 times for 88 yards with one catch for eight yards. Dillon is averaging 2.7 yards per carry over three games in 2023. Jones averaged 4.6 yards per carry on nine carries in Week 1 and has a 5.1-yard average for his career.
The Packers play the Lions Thursday night and then are off until Monday, Oct. 9, so Jones would have ample time to recover and get ready for the Raiders in Week 5 whether he plays this week or not.
Receiver Christian Watson is also expecting to play Thursday night but LaFleur said he also needs to be medically cleared beforehand.
