Josh Jacobs Rumors: Packers to Sign Raiders RB to 4-Year, $48M Contract in FA

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Josh Jacobs is changing addresses, and his destination is a bit of a stunner.

The former Las Vegas Raiders running back has reportedly agreed to sign with the Green Bay Packers, per Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

According to NFL Insider Jordan Schultz, Jacobs will earn $48 million over the four-year deal.

It’s presumably the contract Jacobs didn’t get in 2023, when the Raiders slapped him with the franchise tag, though Jacobs never signed it and held out to start training camp. He eventually agreed to a one-year, $11.8 million deal in August, ending the dispute.

Jacobs, 26, has rushed for at least 800 yards in all five of his NFL seasons. His career year came in 2022, when he led the league with 1,653 rushing yards to go along with 12 touchdowns. The 2023 season was a bit more of a disappointment, as he finished with 805 yards and six scores in 13 games, adding 37 catches for 296 yards.

Granted, injuries cost him four games, hurting his overall output. And he was a different player under interim head coach Antonio Pierce after Josh McDaniels was fired in early November, rushing 100 times for 397 yards and three scores in five games following the change.

In eight games under McDaniels, he rushed 133 times for just 408 yards and three scores.

When Jacobs hit free agency, he joined a loaded class that included Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, Tony Pollard and Austin Ekeler, among others. But given that he’s younger than Henry and Ekeler, has stayed more consistently healthy than Barkley and has proved in the past he can thrive as the featured back—something Pollard struggled to do in 2023—it was always a possibility that Jacobs was going to be considered the top option at the position in free agency.

The Packers are banking on Jacobs being a top option in their backfield, though the presence of Aaron Jones made Jacobs’ addition a major surprise.

Still, Jordan Love will be happy to have another weapon at his disposal, and one of the bigger names in this free-agency class is now off the board.