[url=Rodgers: James Jones should be Packers’ top priority]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/07/27/rodgers-james-jones-should-be-packers-top-priority/[/url]
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers knows what he wants his team to do now that the NFL is open for business: Re-sign free-agent wide receiver James Jones.
“James is extremely talented and he’s a guy that I think we have to bring back without a doubt,” Rodgers told ESPN Milwaukee. “He should be priority No. 1. And I mean that with all my heart. He really should be priority No. 1. We don’t win the Super Bowl without him. And we need him.”
Jones was third on the Packers in catches and second on the team in receiving yards during the regular season, and he added 11 catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the postseason. If he were to sign elsewhere as a free agent, he’d be a significant loss to the Packers as a team and to Rodgers personally. Peter King recently predicted in Sports Illustrated that Jones would sign with the Bears, something no Packers fan would want to see.
Rodgers also said he’s hoping the Packers can keep right tackle Mark Tauscher, who will probably have to take a pay cut if he’s going to stay in Green Bay.
“I’m hopeful that Mark will be back with us, but I realize it’s a business, and I think he does as well,” Rodgers said. “I’m really hoping that he’s still with us. I don’t know what I’d do without that big guy in the locker room. He makes me feel better about myself every day. He’s an overrated backgammon and cribbage player, but he’s a hell of a 🏈 player, too. I hope we bring him back.”