Josh Jacobs arrives at the Green Bay Packers after spending five years with the Las Vegas Raiders, who, for some reason, didn’t pull out all the stops to re-sign him this offseason, much to his disappointment. Because of this, the 26-year-old running back made it known on his social media that he felt disrespected.
“When a player leaves, it’s always the player being unloyal. At what point do we ask the franchises for that same loyalty,” wrote Jacobs on his Instagram story, courtesy of Adam Hill on his X (formerly known as Twitter).
Credit: Associated Press
Josh Jacobs started his NFL career with the Las Vegas Raiders, who picked him in the first round in 2019. He expressed interest in returning to the team after Antonio Pierce was hired as full-time head coach, but the Las Vegas Raiders decided to go in a different direction.
The Las Vegas Raiders wanted Josh Jacobs back, but the Green Bay Packers outbid them
According to The Athletic, the Las Vegas Raiders attempted to keep Josh Jacobs in their ranks, but it wasn’t on the cards since the two-time Pro Bowler would’ve commanded a high salary, which Las Vegas couldn’t afford.
Credit: Getty Images
“The Raiders wanted to bring Jacobs back. Raiders coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco said so at the NFL Scouting Combine last month,” wrote The Athletic. “The Raiders felt good about their chances to retain Jacobs going into the start of free agency, and a source briefed on the matter described them as “optimistic” a deal would get done. However, they were outbid by the Packers.”
Choosing Josh Jacobs over Aaron Jones was a difficult decision for the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said that replacing Aaron Jones with Josh Jacobs was “one of the hardest decisions” he had to make since he said a few weeks ago that Jones was “absolutely” staying.
However, when Aaron Jones’ camp didn’t want to take a huge paycut in Green Bay, the front office felt the need to move and turn their attention elsewhere, so they released Jones and signed Josh Jacobs on a $48 million deal.
Credit: Getty Images
In addition to Jacobs, the Green Bay Packers also signed Xavier McKinney on a four-year, $68 million deal to bolster their secondary.
