Green Bay’s first big splash of free agency is here, and it’s a running back.
The first (small) domino fell for the Green Bay Packers in free agency on Monday morning, when they re-signed tight end Tyler Davis to a one-year deal. Now, a much bigger shoe has dropped, with the team landing their first big-name free agent from an outside team in several years.
That name is running back Josh Jacobs, a five-year veteran who has spent his entire career to this point with the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero first reported that the two sides have come to a deal to bring the 2019 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year to Green Bay. Jacobs was also a first-team All-Pro running back in 2022 when he led the NFL with over 1,600 rushing yards and picked up over 2,000 total yards from scrimmage.
After drafting Jacobs 24th overall in 2019, the Raiders chose not to offer Jacobs a fifth-year option following the 2021 season, which cost them the next year. After he put up his career season in 2022, the Raiders instead used the franchise tag on Jacobs last March, then signed him to a one-year adjusted contract shortly before the start of the regular season that paid him just under $12 million.
Unfortunately for the Raiders, Jacobs took a massive step back from 2022 to 2023. Jacobs’ yards per carry dropped from 4.9 to 3.5; his total yards from scrimmage dropped nearly in half from 2,053 to 1,101; and his touchdowns also dropped in half from 12 to 6. Jacobs also missed four games with injuries last season, the most he had missed in any single season.
Some of Jacobs’ dropoff could be attributed to his 2022 workload, as he led the NFL in touches with 393 that season. Additionally, the Raiders’ offense took a major step back as a whole, as Derek Carr’s departure led to the team starting Jimmy Garoppolo and Aidan O’Connell at quarterback.
Jacobs is also a fairly young player hitting his first free agent contract. He just turned 26 years old on February 11th, after having spent just three seasons and getting 299 touches in college at Alabama. However, his professional workload over his five NFL campaigns is substantial; he has 1,305 carries and 1,502 total touches over that period; by contrast, Aaron Jones is just over 29 years old and has played in seven seasons but has just 1,177 carries and 1,449 total touches.
The term and financial details of Jacobs’ deal have yet to be reported. Likewise, what this means for Jones’ future in Green Bay is yet to be understood; Jones is headed into the final year of his current contract, but the Packers have already been talking to him about trying to adjust his compensation for the upcoming season. However, Rapoport did indicate on-air that the Packers’ plan is still to pair Jacobs and Jones together for 2024.
Stay tuned for updates on both Jacobs’ deal and Jones’ future as they are revealed.
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