Green Bay -- The Green Bay Packers have agreed to terms on a three-year deal with wide receiver James Jones, a source told the Journal Sentinel.
According to the source, QB Aaron Rodgers and WR Donald Driver went to bat for Jones with Packers management and might have had some influence in the Packers stepping up with a good offer. It's true that Jones' options were drying up after the Minnesota Vikings signed WR Michael Jenkins and the New York Jets signed Plaxico Burruss.
But Jones could have stayed out on the market and waited until some team had an injury and reaped a decent reward. Instead, he and the Packers came to terms on a deal this morning that will reunite him with his Super Bowl teammates.
Rodgers spoke to reporters less than an hour ago but about the importance of re-signing Jones and running back John Kuhn.
Other teams had some concerns about Jones' drops and were unwilling to pay him the kind of money he was looking for. The Vikings settled on Atlanta's Michael Jenkins and the Jets settled on former Giant Plaxico Burruss.
That really left the Packers as the only team left, but Jones still had leverage in that he didn't have to return to the team now. So, his agent, Frank Bauer, and Packers negotiator Russ Ball, kept working on a deal that both could live with.
Reached by phone, Bauer admitted that Rodgers and Driver really pressed Packers management to re-sign Jones. You'll never get GM Ted Thompson to admit a player influenced his decision to re-sign a player, but Jones is a popular teammate and with the Eagles acquiring cornerbacks Nnmadi Asmougha and Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, you had to wonder if the coaches felt they needed him back.
"I don't know many quarterbacks who could have done that other than Peyton Manning," Bauer said. "He and Driver really stepped up. That's rare for a quarterback and receiver to do that. That's really neat. James is really excited about coming back. He's very happy."
The Packers bring back their top four receivers and add second-round pick Randall Cobb to the mix. Jones and Jordy Nelson still have to clean up their issue with dropped passes, but this gives coach Mike McCarthy options if one receiver is hot and the other isn't.
Throw in the return of TE Jermichael Finley and the addition of rookie TE D.J. Williams and the Packers should be able to create at least one very favorable match-up against each opponent. The onus now will be on the offensive line to protect QB Aaron Rodgers so he can get them the ball.
Also, LB Nick Barnett sent out a Tweet that said "Go Bills", which means he apparently has signed with Buffalo.