GREEN BAY PACKERS

James Jones invokes 'R.E.L.A.X.' regarding feud between Packers and Aaron Rodgers

JR Radcliffe
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) of the Green Bay Packers talks with James Jones (89) during a 2015 game at Chicago.

Former Green Bay Packers receiver James Jones, who has offered some of the more optimistic takes on the rift between Aaron Rodgers and the team, has invoked perhaps the most famous Rodgers quote in history.

"R.E.L.A.X."

Packers fans would love to. Jones, who caught 45 touchdown passes and racked up 5,195 receiving yards during his eight years in Green Bay — most thanks to passes from Rodgers — serves as an analyst for NFL Network. In an interview on the channel, he discussed whether Mark Murphy's "complicated fella" comment would further drive a wedge between the two sides.

Jones said he had a positive relationship with both Murphy and Rodgers.

"He's not a complicated fella, and that's with anything," Jones said of Rodgers. "You are talking about the future of the Hall of Fame quarterback's career. Yeah, it's going to be complicated. He wants some things, you want some things, so it's going to be complicated. But listening to Mark Murphy talk, I am not reading too much into it. I'm pumping my brakes. I am relaxing. Don't read too much into it. I know Mark personally; Mark loves all his players."

In a tweet sharing the video, Jones punctuated the letters of "relax," a nod to a famous Rodgers interview in which he encouraged the fan base to chill after a 1-2 start in 2014.

Green Bay won 9 of 10 after the interview and finished 12-4 in a season that ended in a notorious NFC championship game loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Jones encouraged the Packers brass to "get together, get a relationship with Aaron Rodgers like I have one, and get this thing together, get it fixed."

This lines up with other things Jones has said on the issue, including that he believed Rodgers would report for training camp in late July.

JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.