Williams Says Goodbye to Packers

For four seasons, Jamaal Williams was the trusty and always-smiling sidekick to Aaron Jones.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – With the re-signing of Pro Bowl running back Aaron Jones and with promising second-round pick AJ Dillon waiting in the wings, Jamaal Williams said goodbye to the Green Bay Packers on Monday, the unofficial start of free agency.

“Thank you Green Bay for accepting me and letting me grow into the Man I am today and still thriving to be,” Williams said as part of the Instagram message below. “I have nothing but RESPECT and LOVE for everyone who works in the Packers facility from Players, Coaches, all the employees that work in Lambeau, and the fans!!”

While Jones received a four-year deal worth $48 million, his tag-team partner faces a much less certain market.

Williams, a fourth-round pick in 2017, was a quality sidekick to Jones, a fifth-round pick in 2017, during their four seasons together. While Jones quickly surpassed Williams on the depth chart, Williams turned in four quality seasons. After averaging 3.6 yards per carry as a rookie and 3.8 in his second seasons, those numbers were up to 4.3 last year and 4.2 this season.

Williams doesn’t do any one thing at an elite level but he does everything at a winning level. Not only did he rush for 505 yards this past season, but he caught 31-of-35 passes (88.6 percent) for 236 more yards. He plays bigger than he is, whether it’s running into the teeth of the defense or picking up a blitzer. In 622 yards over four seasons, he had zero fumbles.

However, with the salary cap down more than $15 million due to the impact of COVID-19 on league revenues, how much of a market will there be for a back who’s not a breakaway threat? Of the 47 backs with at least 100 carries in 2020, Williams gained 13.2 percent of his yards on runs of 15-plus yards, the seventh-lowest rate in the league, according to Pro Football Focus. According to Sports Info Solutions, he broke a tackle on 10.1 percent of his carries, eighth-lowest among those with 100 carries.

Wherever he lands, he’ll immediately be popular among the fans.

“I think my life is an anime show,” he said while wearing a “Joker” mask during training camp. “And I’m my own main character.”

A team-first player with an easy smile and captivating personality, football was a game for Williams. But it was a game that he took incredibly seriously, including grueling desert workouts to get ready for the 2020 season.

“I was working out on mountains with rattlesnakes and stuff like that,” Williams said. “Not a lot of people like rattlesnakes, not a lot of people like running hills at 12 o’clock in the afternoon when it’s like 110. I want to be great. I want to be great like Sweetness [Walter Payton] and his work ethic in the offseason. I want to be running hills and make sure that I’m making myself working hard like it’s training camp but even harder. I do whatever I can to make myself better for my team and myself.”