Confident he’s finally over a lingering hamstring injury, Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones is hoping to make his long-awaited return as something resembling a full-time player on Sunday against the Denver Broncos.
Jones injured the hamstring in Week 1, missed two games and then returned to play 20 snaps in Week 4 against the Detroit Lions. While he felt great in the lead up to Week 5, a setback on the Saturday before playing the Las Vegas Raiders led to him missing a third game in four weeks.
“I’m back feeling good now,” Jones said Wednesday. “I’m confident now…I think sitting that game really helped.”
Jones was on the field coming out of the bye on Monday and practiced in a limited capacity on Wednesday. He said the hamstring feels as good now as it has as any point since the injury on Sept. 10.
“Yes, this is the best I’ve felt,” Jones said.
The goal now is staying healthy until Sunday. Jones said he overextended while trying to catch a pass on the Saturday before the Raiders game and tweaked the hamstring, leading the team to hold him out during the 17-13 loss in Las Vegas.
The bye week might have been the final piece of recovery for Jones, who has played all of 48 snaps through six weeks this season.
Rookie Jayden Reed said Jones is a “missing piece of the puzzle” that the Packers offense will “love” to have back.
In the three games without Jones, the Packers scored 24 points, 18 points and 13 points and went 1-2 overall, with the one win coming on a fourth-quarter comeback against the Saints. Losers of two straight games entering the bye, the Packers desperately need Jones — arguably the team’s best playmaker on offense — to spark the team back to life.