The Green Bay Packers made several surprising transactions throughout the course of the 2024 NFL preseason. Most recently, they signed Brayden Narveson as their kicker after having Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph compete for the role during OTA’s and training camp. But their run of surprising moves began months ago when free agency began.
Josh Jacobs was the biggest name on the market in terms of free agent running backs, with plenty of suitors bidding for his services. However, he chose to sign a four-year $48 million contract with the Packers instead of signing with a bigger market team.
Josh Jacobs Leads a Very Different Running Back Room for the Green Bay Packers
Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Hours after the Packers signed Jacobs, they announced the release of Aaron Jones, the third-leading rusher in franchise history. Even though general manager Brian Gutekunst virtually guaranteed Jones would be back in 2024, Green Bay still asked him to take a massive pay cut in order to stay with the team, something that he had already done last season.
Jones has since signed with the Minnesota Vikings.
In addition to signing Jacobs, the Packers also drafted running back Marshawn Lloyd in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. AJ Dillon, who was drafted by the team in 2020, was re-signed on a one-year deal as well.
2023 undrafted free agent Emanuel Wilson was also retained.
When Green Bay released their 53-man roster earlier this week, it included Jacobs, Wilson, and Lloyd as their three running backs. Dillon was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a neck injury.
Green Bay Packers Running Back Josh Jacobs Refused to Sign with the Kansas City Chiefs
In a recent interview with Dan Pompei of The Athletic, Jacobs revealed that there were numerous teams trying to get him to sign with him during the offseason, including the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. There was no way, however, that Jacobs was going to join the former rival of his previous team, the Las Vegas Raiders.
“They were trying to get me hard,” Pompei reports Jacobs said. “But there was no way I was going there. I feel like once you are rivals with somebody, you have a genuine hate for them. I couldn’t see myself in that color. And besides, I never wanted to be the guy that joined the dominant team. I want to be the guy that beats the dominant team.”
Other teams that were interested in signing Jacobs were the Chicago Bears, Houston Texans, New York Giants, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, and Arizona Cardinals.
So why did he choose the Packers? Pompei states that it all came down to stability. Green Bay does not change head coaches often, while the Raiders had five head coaches in five years with the Raiders. Jordan Love is entrenched as Green Bay’s franchise quarterback; the Raiders have a placeholder in Gardner Minshew as their quarterback this year.
Green Bay is on a clear ascending path. Las Vegas is stuck at the beginning of yet another rebuild.
Of course, having one of the best offensive coaches in the NFL, Matt LaFleur, must have certainly helped the Packers’ case as well.
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