Just more than seven months after he played his final snap at Lambeau Field, Aaron Jones is returning on Sunday in a new uniform.
Regardless of the jersey he’s wearing, Jones plans on returning into the Lambeau stands, as well, if he finds pay dirt.
Hence, when Jones and the Minnesota Vikings play the host Green Bay Packers on Sunday, the running back plans on making a “Lambeau Leap” into the stands if he scores a touchdown.
“I’m definitely leaping up there,” Jones said Wednesday.
It’s a situation Jones admitted he’s envisioned, having scored 63 touchdowns donning a Packers jersey.
“Of course. If you’re not thinking about the end zone, you’re thinking about the wrong thing,” he said.
However, it remains to be seen how Jones, who signed as a free agent with the Vikings this past offseason, will be received by the Packers crowd, and if he’d be handled with care jumping into the seats. That’s also something Jones has pondered.
“It depends on which end zone I score in,” Jones, 29, said. “But either end zone it’s not too tall. It is kind of high up there, but I can still get up there. So, either one. Hopefully, there’s a Vikings fan in one of them, so I can jump up to them. But I think that’ll be a pretty cool shot, side by side with the two jerseys.”
Jones’ last game at Lambeau with the Green Bay Packers was Week 18 of last season in a win over the Chicago Bears. He played two more games with the Pack, but both were playoff road games.
As for finding a reason to make a Lambeau Leap, well, he hasn’t actually had one of those for quite a bit. His last touchdown in Green Bay was in Week 9 of last season during the Packers’ 20-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Thereafter, Jones has gone touchdown-less in three straight games at the venerable field, adding just a bit more anticipation for what his return might hold.
A fifth-round pick of the Packers in the 2017 NFL Draft, Jones played seven seasons in Green Bay, rushing for 5,940 yards and 45 touchdowns during his tenure, which saw four playoff berths and three NFC North titles.
He’ll be facing a Packers defense that’s 10th in yards allowed so far this season. Jones will also be matching up opposite his veteran replacement, Josh Jacobs, who leads a Green Bay offense that’s No. 1 in the NFL in rushing.
In the tale of the three-game tape, Jones has 228 rushing yards on 42 attempts (5.1 yards per carry) with one rushing score.
Jacobs, meanwhile, has churned out 278 yards on 62 carries (4.5 yard per attempt), but has no touchdowns, so he might be looking to make his first Lambeau Leap.
Jones is obviously far more familiar with the joyous jump. Now, the Packers’ No. 3 all-time rusher will set cleat on the hallowed ground of Lambeau Field as a Viking.
“I’m definitely excited to go back, that’s where it all started for me,” Jones said. “Just a moment of gratitude, a full-circle moment.”