BOCA RATON, Fla. -- It sounds like the Green Bay Packers want to see what Jared Abbrederis, Jeff Janis and Ty Montgomery can do.
That's why they've decided not to bring back veteran receiver James Jones.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy confirmed Tuesday at the NFL meetings that Jones was not in their plans for 2016. A day earlier, Jones' agent, Frank Bauer, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the Packers informed him they planned a youth movement behind Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb.
"I had a chance to talk to Frank Bauer a couple times down here," McCarthy said during a lunch break at the meetings. "Frank does a great job with his guys. James is such a class act, not only on the field but what he does for your locker room, too. This is a decision obviously to look forward with the younger guys."
Jones bailed out the Packers early last season, when they signed him Week 1 to help offset the loss of Nelson to a season-ending knee injury suffered in the preseason. Jones started fast and finished with career-high 890 yards on 50 catches with eight touchdowns. However, at age 31, his lack of speed began to catch up with him. Although he played in every game (including playoffs), he went without a catch in two of three games during a late November stretch and had two other games with just one reception in each.
Jones returned to Green Bay, where he spent the first seven years of his NFL career, after one season with the Raiders. Oakland released him after the 2014 season (when he caught a career-high 73 passes), and Jones went to camp last summer with the New York Giants, who cut him at the end of the preseason.
The playoff loss at Arizona gave McCarthy a glimpse at what he might have in Abbrederis and Janis. They combined for 11 catches, 200 yards and two touchdowns against the Cardinals, including seven catches for 145 yards and both touchdowns by Janis. The Packers remain high on Montgomery, who played in only six games last year as a rookie because of an ankle injury. They also think Davante Adams will improve after an inconsistent 50-catch season last year.
McCarthy wouldn't completely close the door on Jones, although it's unlikely given his age (he'll turn 32 on March 31) that he would return.
"You never know," McCarthy said. "You never say never. It's this time of year. You haven't completed your 90-man roster. You still have the draft, free agency and all those things going on. I think it's important in this situation not to hold him back either."