Matt LaFleur says Aaron Jones' injury likely isn't long-term

The Green Bay Packers escaped the Chargers with a 23-20 victory but suffered two scary injuries almost back-to-back in the first half on Sunday. Running back Aaron Jones exited the game with a knee injury while rookie Emanuel Wilson suffered a shoulder injury, knocking both players out of the game. Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur had a positive update on Jones after the final whistle.

“I don’t think it’s long-term,” LaFleur said after the game. There wasn’t much to go on but Jones was able to provide more himself after initial tests.

According to the Packers star, his ACL is intact. Now, he’ll need further testing to determine the extent of his injury.

“Like if it’s my ACL, then I’m done for the season,” Jones shared of his reaction on Sunday. “I put in a lot of work, put in a lot of time to be here with these guys and for it to go out like that, I was feeling like, ‘Man I can’t catch a break.’ But caught a break. Hopefully, it’s not anything serious and I’m back here pretty soon.”

Jones had four carries for 14 yards prior to his exit from the win over the Chargers. He also had one catch. This season, he’s up to 245 yards and two touchdowns on 66 carries. He’s also up to 169 receiving yards with one more score on 19 receptions.

Packers step up in Jones’ and Wilson’s absence

With Wilson and Jones out, the Packers only had fourth-year running back AJ Dillon available to close out the game. Dillon finished with 61 total yards on 18 touches. He was among the first to tell his teammates not to worry about the outcome of the game amid their injuries.

“I felt those guys, man,” Dillon said. “I saw ’em before both of them went inside, and I just told ’em, ‘I’ve got you guys… love you. We’re going to find a way to get it done.’ So I’m happy I was able to keep that promise and we were able to get that win.”

Jones’ teammates told him they’d have his back and that they did. The Packers pulled out the gutsy win with the injured running back joining them on the sideline.

“As soon as the game was over, they come find me and were like ‘What did we tell you? What did we tell you?'” Jones said. “I’m glad the guys were resilient, everybody stepped up, made a play when we needed one, and I think this is a lot to build from.”