The Green Bay Packers may not want receiver James Jones back, but the feeling is certainly not mutual.
Jones, who will be free to sign with any team on March 11, reiterated his desire to stay with the Packers earlier this week.
“It’s an exciting time for me and my family,” Jones said. “I would love to go back to Green Bay and play ball there. I love a lot of my teammates [and] playing with one of the best quarterbacks in the game. But we all know this is a business. This is the part that we all hate, but you’ve got to deal with it.”
Jones is obviously realistic. He also talked about what he’d look for in a new team. Basically, he’d look for a team like the Green Bay Packers.
“Priority number one is just taking care of my family,” Jones said. “Priority number two is if I’m not able to go back to Green Bay, to find a good fit with a good quarterback, people that are trying to win and to be a part of that and help them win some ballgames.”
New England Patriots, anyone? Denver Broncos? Seattle Seahawks?
The Patriots certainly could use a receiver because, well, I can’t name one receiver on their team. The Broncos stand a good chance of losing Eric Decker in free agency. The Seahawks just released Sidney Rice and Golden Tate will be a free agent.
A team-first guy like Jones would be a great fit in any of those places.
Oh, and there’s also the New York Giants. Their offense is now run by former Packers quarterbacks coach Ben McAdoo and they’ll probably lose Hakeem Nicks to free agency.
And let’s not leave out the Raiders and Chiefs, both of whom have former Packers execs as general managers and not much to speak of at the receiver position. Although the Raiders don’t really fit Jones’ criteria.
Ultimately, Jones is probably going to play for whoever throws the most money at him. Unlike his last foray into free agency, we’re guessing he’ll have plenty of options.