In the London Game between the New York Jets and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, two men who have not been on the same football field together for almost two years will meet again: Aaron Rodgers and Aaron Jones. The former teammates of the Green Bay Packers have more than just their first names in common. Much more.

Football is family.

A phrase often used to describe the beauty of American football.

We may be opponents on the field, but as soon as the last play is played, we are there for each other again, supporting each other when we are injured or in trouble.

A phrase that applies to few people as much as it does to Aaron Rodgers and Aaron Jones, who will meet again on Sunday in the NFL London game between the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings.

“I love him so much,” says one Aaron (Rodgers) about the other (Jones). The other answers: “I’m so grateful to him for everything he’s done for me.”

Two who like each other. Even more: love each other. And who have not seen each other for a long time, at least not on a football field.

Aaron-Duo celebrates some successes in Green Bay

On January 9, 2023, Rodgers and Jones were last on the field together, on the icy Lambeau Field. Final game day of the regular season: Packers against Lions. A win puts Green Bay in the playoffs, but Detroit wins. That’s the end of it.

Not only the hopes of all Cheeseheads for the postseason, but also the time the two Aarons spent together. Rodgers then moves to the Jets, while Jones stays for another year and joins the Vikings before the current season.

But as sad as the end of their time together may have been, the two Aarons had a successful six years in Green Bay. After two seasons marked by Rodgers’ injuries, the Packers made the playoffs three times in a row, in 2020 and 2021 as the top-seeded team in the conference. In 2019 and 2020, they only lost in the NFC Championship Game. It was always just a little bit to the Super Bowl.

In 79 games with Rodgers, Jones had 5,045 yards and 58 touchdowns, 14 of which were passes from the future Hall of Fame quarterback. Rodgers was something of a kick-start for Jones’ career, speaking out in 2017 in favor of more appearances for the third-round pick. “He always stood up for me,” the running back recalls.

But it’s not just his performance on the pitch that makes Rodgers rave about “Jonesy” (as he calls him), but also, and above all, his qualities off the pitch: “There’s no one like him. He’s such a special person. One of my all-time favorite teammates.”

A “glue player,” as the 40-year-old puts it, someone who holds the team together, who not only leads on the field but also off it, making others better players and better people. Someone for whom others would go through fire.
Emotional proof of Jones’ uniqueness

Example: After the death of his father in September 2021, Jones wore a necklace with his ashes around his neck in a Thursday Night Game against the Lions. The running back scored four touchdowns in that game, and after one of them he lost the necklace with the ashes in the Lambeau Field end zone.

A Packers attendant searched for the pendant long into the night after the game – and finally found it again around 3 a.m. Rodgers: “You don’t do something like that for everyone. But for Jonesy, everyone would have done it.”

Contact naturally decreased after Rodgers’ departure, but the two Aarons met occasionally during the offseason.

Vikings star in top form – Aaron Rodgers is happy

Now both are looking forward to the reunion in different colors. Although for Rodgers it is still green. Jones probably also thinks: “It suits him. I try to watch Aaron as often as I can. I will always cheer for him.”

Except on Sunday, of course. Then the running back will try to continue his strong season so far with 464 yards and two touchdowns. Incidentally, Jones scored 139 of them last week against the Packers, the team that didn’t want him after seven years, but whose “G” he still “always has in his heart”.

“He’s just disproving all the doubters,” says Rodgers, pleased with the continued success of ‘his’ running back, who he made a starter seven years ago, despite all the doubters at the time. He loves him.

At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, there will therefore also be a special hug for his namesake, “We’ll see how intense it will be. But it will be heartfelt.” The kind of hug that is otherwise reserved for close friends.

Or family.