Packers: 3 2021 free agency mistakes Brian Gutekunst regrets

1. Overpaying Aaron Jones

Gutekunst had the task of freeing up cap space this past season, as they had some pivotal free agents to sign. They were running back Aaron Jones and center Corey Linsley. Ultimately, the Packers had to pick one player to re-sign, and they decided that it would be Jones on a four-year, $48 million contract.

Jones is one of the best running backs in the game, which is understandable why the Packers decided to pay him. This past season, he ran for 799 yards and four touchdowns on 171 carries, while catching 52-of-65 targets for 391 yards and six touchdowns. But, they already had to restructure his contract.

Ahead of the start of the 2022 league year, the Packers reworked Jones’ deal to free up $3.08 million in cap space by converting $3.85 million of his 2022 compensation into a signing bonus and adding two void years.

The team did use some of that cap space to sign Aaron Rodgers to a three-year, $150.8 million contract extension. But they could not reach an agreement with Adams.

Bringing back Jones did make sense, but it does not look good that the team already had to restructure the contract after one season.