7 notable Minnesota Vikings who also played for the Green Bay Packers

Za’Darius Smith - OLB

One of the more recent additions to this list is Za'Darius Smith, who was a force in two seasons with Green Bay before making a major impact in his lone season with the Vikings.

Smith began his career with four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens from 2015 to 2018, but his career took off after signing with the Packers before the 2019 season.

Smith racked up 26 sacks in his first two seasons with Green Bay, but a back injury and a contract dispute limited him to just one game in 2021, which also led to his release the following spring.

When Smith’s free-agent agreement with the Ravens fell through during the 2022 offseason, the Vikings pounced and signed Smith to bolster their pass rush.

Smith got off to a fast start with Minnesota and finished 2022 with 10 sacks, but his play fell off as the season progressed, and another contract dispute led to a trade to the Cleveland Browns.

While his time in the rivalry was short-lived, Smith made an impact on both sides as one of its top pass-rushers.

Aaron Jones - RB

With all of the old names on the list, it begs the question of what role Aaron Jones can provide in Minnesota.

If it’s anything like what the Packers received, the Vikings could be getting a good player. Jones ran for 5,940 yards and 45 touchdowns in seven seasons with Green Bay, but he was also a threat in the passing game with 272 catches for 2,076 yards and 18 scores.

While the 29-year-old may have some red flags due to his age (he’ll turn 30 in December) and injury history, he didn’t regress when he was on the field running for 100 yards in each of his final five games and scoring three touchdowns in the Packers’ Wild-Card playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys last season.

The Vikings also have Ty Chandler, and The Athletic’s Alec Lewis reported earlier this offseason that the third-year running back out of North Carolina will be featured "prominently” next season.

But the Vikings didn’t pay Jones $7 million to ride the bench, so he should end up getting ample opportunities to stick it to his former team in 2024.