The Green Bay Packers ushered in a new era of offense in 2023, and one of the primary holdovers through the transition now also appears on his way out.
Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported last week that Green Bay will part ways with running back A.J. Dillon after he officially hits free agency on March 13.
“The Packers aren’t likely to re-sign free agent A.J. Dillon and so 2023 undrafted free agent Emanuel Wilson may be the only option to handle a bulk load,” Silverstein wrote on March 1. “With at least 11 selections (including an estimated three compensatory picks), it’s likely the Packers will address the position somewhere in the draft.”
Down Season in 2023 Likely Cost A.J. Dillon Future With the Packers
Dillon — a former second-round pick out of Boston College in 2020 — produced the worst season of his four-year NFL career in 2023, save for his rookie campaign.
A quality season might have earned Dillon a new contract as the Packers’ primary rusher of the football, but he instead recorded 613 rushing yards on 3.4 yards per carry and just 2 TDs — all of which were his lowest totals since the 2020 season.
The running back amassed 1,573 rushing yards and 12 TDs on the ground (14 TDs overall) in the two previous seasons combined — averaging 4.3 yards and 4.1 yards per attempt in those campaigns, respectively.
Dillon played out the string on his four-year rookie deal worth $5.2 million in total last season. Spotrac projects his market value at just $3.5 million on a new one-year contract, so the fact that Green Bay is uninterested in bringing him back despite four years of service — much of it quality — is telling as to how the franchise views Dillon’s trajectory.On top of that, a running back selected in the later rounds will cost the franchise over four years roughly the same amount that Dillon will command in 2024 alone.