Getty Las Vegas Raiders RB Josh Jacobs.
Running back Josh Jacobs is one of the biggest names to swap teams this offseason. He spent five years with the Las Vegas Raiders and made two Pro Bowls. He decided to sign a four-year contract with the Green Bay Packers in free agency.
According to Jacobs, he was hoping to re-sign with the Raiders but there wasn’t much mutual interest.
“Ultimately, I wanted to come back,” Jacobs told Fox News Digital in a July 3 interview. “I wanted to go back, but when we were having negotiations, and they made their decision, it made my decision pretty easy honestly.”
It hasn’t been reported if the Raiders made Jacobs an offer and it likely wasn’t close to the $48 million the Packers offered him if they did.
Josh Jacobs Believes Green Bay Packers Have More Structure
Jacobs was a first-round pick of the Raiders in 2019 and he developed into a team captain. He was one of the team’s most important players for the last five seasons. However, the team made the playoffs once and didn’t win a game.
Since 2008, the Packers have only missed the playoffs three times. It will be a very different team culture in Green Bay and that played a big role in why Jacobs left.
“I would say one of the main reasons was just the certainty of what I’m gonna get,” Jacobs said. “There’s already a lot of structure, there’s already a lot of stuff in place. Having another new head coach over there [in Las Vegas], my fourth head coach while I was there, I never felt like there was any stability.
“Just to be able to come into a place where you’re not trying to pick up the pieces, and you’re not trying to build it out and see what works for us. We know what works, we’re basically just trying to execute the game plan. I think that’s the biggest difference.”
Last season, the Packers beat the Dallas Cowboys in a playoff game and nearly beat the San Francisco 49ers. They could be a Super Bowl contender in 2025 now that they have Jacobs on the roster. The Raiders appear headed in the right direction so time will tell if the Packers give the running back a better chance to win.
“The sky is the limit in this offense.”
@iAM_JoshJacobs is ready to show the world what the @packers are going to do in 2024 😤
Josh Jacobs Explains Davante Adams Text
Notably, star Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams spent the first eight years of his career with the Packers. Apparently, after Jacobs signed with Green Bay, he texted Adams the eyeballs emoji and recently explained why.
“Me and Davante, you got to understand the relationship we have,” Jacobs said on the July 2 episode of NFL Network’s “The Insiders.” “We joke around with each other a lot. We talk about certain things. Basically, when I sent him the eyeballs, it was more so about how crazy life works out. He leaves there and goes to the Raiders, and I’m going there. That’s kind of just what we was talking about.”
Adams going back to Green Bay doesn’t seem likely. He’s committed to the Raiders and the Packers are focused on youth. Adams and Jacobs got close during their two seasons together in Las Vegas but not enough for the wide receiver to want to leave.
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Josh Jacobs Breaks Silence on Why He Left Raiders