The Green Bay Packers had interest in acquiring running back Jonathan Taylor from the Indianapolis Colts in the summer of 2023, but pivoted to Josh Jacobs the following March after they were unable to strike an accord.
Now Taylor may again be available, while Jacobs is in the midst of off-field legal issues with which no team ever wants to associate itself. Taylor remains an elite-level player, while Jacobs’ production tailed off in the second season of his four-year contract with Green Bay in 2025.
Jacobs has appeared in just one game for the Packers this season with mixed results. He could face further punishment from the NFL after missing the first six contests of the campaign based on if the league can obtain video evidence of Jacobs’ domestic dispute in May. That incident resulted in the 28-year-old RB pleading no contest to two misdemeanor counts, one for battery and the other for criminal damage to property.
There is no guarantee Jacobs will incur more penalties, but there is guarantee he won’t. His caliber of play moving forward is also an uncertainty after tallying just 36 yards on 11 carries against the worst defense in football in Detroit last Sunday, but adding five catches for 55 yards and a touchdown.
Jonathan Taylor Likely to Cost Packers 2nd-Round Draft Pick in 2027
So the question in Green Bay becomes: Do the Packers bet on an aging Jacobs behind a suspect offensive line when they don’t know for certain he will be available for the remainder of the campaign? Or do they spend a second-round pick on Taylor in an attempt to improve what has been the league’s worst run offense through seven weeks of play?
The answer is not simple, and the fact that Green Bay doesn’t have its first-round pick in the 2027 draft complicates it all the more. The Packers still possess their second-round selection as well as two third-rounders, two fourth-round picks, three fifth-round selections and a couple of sixth-rounders in next April’s proceedings.
Green Bay can save $13.5 million against the salary cap in 2027 by cutting or trading Jacobs during the offseason, which the team might consider anyway given his health issues and production downturn in 2025 as well as his off-field conduct and lack of availability this year.
Meanwhile, absorbing Taylor’s contract will cost only $4.3 million for the remainder of 2026 if the Packers acquire him this week. Green Bay has roughly $7.3 million in available salary cap space as of Tuesday.
Packers Can Offset Most of Jonathan Taylor’s 2027 Cost by Cutting, Trading Josh Jacobs During Offseason
The real financial cost of adding Taylor hits next season, when his two-year extension worth $44 million kicks in. However, the money Green Bay can save by moving on from Jacobs would almost entirely offset Taylor’s $15 million base salary in 2027.
Meanwhile, Green Bay would have Taylor and Jacobs at its disposal, which would allow the team to move MarShawn Lloyd back into the RB3 role. A duo of Taylor and Jacobs should prove among the best in the league, and Taylor’s presence would protect against further action by the NFL against Jacobs.
A second-round pick is significant draft capital for Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst to surrender in a deal for a running back, particularly after trading away two first-rounders for pass-rusher Micah Parsons in 2025.
But the seats are getting a little hot in Green Bay and may become sweltering if the Packers can’t find their way back to the playoffs this winter and make a little noise before the postseason concludes.
Packers Face Tough Josh Jacobs Call Amid Jonathan Taylor Developments