A.J. Dillon has had quite the hectic start to his NFL career.
After being drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers were supposed to have the best one-two punch in the NFL with Dillon and Aaron Jones. Four years later, neither running back will be suiting up for the Packers this season.
While Jones moved on to Minnesota, Dillon was put on the season-ending injury reserve list with a neck injury, similar to an injury he suffered last season. That means Dillon will not be able to suit up and will miss the entire season. This injury certainly hurts both the Packers and Dillon.
“We are very, very cautious with heads, necks and hearts around here; we always have been,” said Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst. “Obviously (Dillon) had the injury last season. It was just something that we weren’t comfortable with at the moment. Hopefully that will change in time.
“Obviously he won’t be with us this year, and he is going to need some time to get through this to see exactly how this will shake out. I am wishing the best for him, and obviously he is a pro’s pro and it is tough when these things happen.”
The injury comes at a very bad time in Dillon’s career, as he was slated to carry part of the workload from the running back position this season with the release of Jones and the acquisition of Josh Jacobs.
This past offseason, Dillon had signed a fairly unorthodox contract with Green Bay; a four-year qualifying contract. What that means is Dillon was offered a contract, because he was on the team for four uninterrupted consecutive credited seasons. Because Dillon was on the 90-man active/inactive roster for those four consecutive years, he qualified for this contract.
A qualifying contract comes under the pretense of a one-year deal with a base salary of up to $1.45 million more than the base player. So, Dillon can max that contract to $2.57 million, but just the $1.45 million will be counted against the salary cap. This is a rarely used contract in the league, as many teams either agree to an extension earlier in the players’ career or use the franchise tag.
Without Dillon this season, Green Bay’s backfield may be in a small state of disarray. Jacobs is expected to be the featured back and will probably receive a lion’s share of the workload.
Behind him is rookie running back MarShawn Lloyd. While Lloyd wowed in his time at USC, he has faced injuries all offseason and may not be ready for Week 1. That leaves Emanuel Wilson, who fought his way onto the 53-man roster this season and will likely see early work this season as Lloyd recovers.
Either way, Green Bay’s depth at the running back position could be an issue if Jacobs goes down early with an injury. It will be curious to see if the Packers go out and sign a veteran free agent like Leonard Fournette or James Robinson to stabilize the position.
Dillon saga continues after being placed on IR
