Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones has had a frustrating season for both the team and his fantasy football managers. Jones, who raced out of the gate in Week 1, looked poised for a strong season before a hamstring injury derailed his 2023 campaign. The injury, initially suffered in Week 1, has lingered all season and has even sidelined Jones for three games this season.
But Jones played two consecutive games for the first time this season in Weeks 7 and 8, and Packers head coach Matt LaFleur made some comments that will sound like music to the ears of fantasy football managers and fans.
LaFleur says Packers will ‘cut loose' Aaron Jones
“He looked good, had a good week … and ready to cut him loose.”
LaFleur told reporters he is ready to unleash Jones in Week 9 against the Los Angeles Rams, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN. The Packers offense has been stagnant this season, and a big reason why is the lack of a running game.
Backup running back AJ Dillon, who struggled in a couple of spot starts without Jones in the lineup, has averaged a career-low 3.1 yards per carry this season. Plus, it's no coincidence that the Green Bay offense looked the best it has all year when Jones, who accounted for three total touchdowns in the game, was fully healthy.
Cutting Jones loose gives the Packers their best chance to win, especially with Love turning the ball over eight times in the last five games played. It also gives fantasy football managers a boost in their running back slot.
What do LaFleur's comments mean for Jones' fantasy football value?
Jones currently sits as the RB45 in half-PPR formats with four games played under his belt. The Packers halfback blew up in Week 1, excelling as both a runner and a receiver to the tune of a 25.7-point day against the Chicago Bears.
But Jones has really hurt his fantasy football managers in the three other games he's played, as he's been held under 8 half-PPR points in each of those contests. It's made him hard to trust for fantasy purposes.
There is reason to believe that this could be the week where Jones gets back on track. For one thing, the Packers can't feel very good about putting the ball in Love's hands right now, given his NFL-worst 57.7 percent completion percentage.
Green Bay is going to want to put the ball in the hands of arguably their best playmaker in Jones. The Rams rank 20th in run defense and can certainly be ran on, plus Jones could see a large workload as a receiver as well, with LaFleur likely looking to get his young QB as many layup completions as possible.
He might not get 25.7 half-PPR points like he did in Week 1, but Jones should be a solid start in all fantasy football formats in Week 9.
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