James Jones is probably right: It shouldn't take long for him to revive his connection with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
And if he could catch 73 passes last year with the Oakland Raiders and their collection of quarterbacks then there's no reason to think that one season away from Green Bay will do much to change what had been a strong bond with Rodgers.
Given how much has happened since Jones left the Packers in free agency in March 2014, it may seem like a long time ago that Rodgers and Jones last hooked up. But as Jones put it when he landed in Green Bay on Sunday to re-sign with the Packers, he's only one year removed from the offense he played in during his first seven NFL seasons.
The Packers never asked Jones to be their No. 1 receiver even in his prime, and they won't do it now at age 31. Randall Cobb and Davante Adams likely will remain as the Packers' top-two receivers.
Jones can't make up for the loss of Jordy Nelson, but there wasn't an available receiver who could. As long as Jones is the dependable player he has been throughout his career, he's the perfect fit. He has played in every game in five of the last six seasons and has missed only eight games (two in 2013 and six in 2008) in his entire eight-year career. Raiders quarterbacks targeted him 110 times last season, and he dropped only two of them, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
That connection with Rodgers is perhaps the most important aspect of this deal. Of Jones' 383 career regular-season receptions, 216 of them came from Rodgers. All but 10 of his 43 career regular-season touchdowns came from Rodgers, as well.
"It's a crazy business," Jones said Sunday. "But I'm just happy to have the opportunity to continue to keep playing."
Jones could move into the No. 3 role -- a responsibility that without him would have fallen to either Ty Montgomery or Jeff Janis. Montgomery is a rookie, and Janis caught just two passes as a rookie last season. In their three-receiver sets, which the Packers used on nearly 72 percent of their snaps last season, they can now comfortably move Cobb into the slot, where he's best, and have Jones and Adams on the outside, the story said. In his first seven seasons with the Packers, Jones caught 278 of his 310 on the outside. This move seems to hurt the fantasy value of Montgomery and Janis the most, but Adams should be safe as a top-two WR who will play on the outside, for now. We don't see much fantasy value in James Jones at the moment.
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