SEPTEMBER 3: Both Pompei and Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post have clarified that the Giants did not make an official offer to Jacobs. The team was one of many which was in on the veteran running back market, as evidenced by the Singletary deal. That update is notable given the financial details Jacobs mentioned, although expressions of interest and formal contract proposals are of course two different things. Jacobs’ Packers performance will remain a key storyline within the reshaped running back landscape in 2024.
AUGUST 29: Josh Jacobs‘ free agency featured several teams in on the former rushing champion. Half of the AFC West was interested, though that does not appear to include the Raiders.
After Jacobs said he did not meet with new Raiders GM Tom Telesco about re-signing, the sixth-year running back noted (via The Athletic’s Dan Pompei) he took the Packers’ four-year, $48MM offer back to his original team. The Raiders did not match, but Jacobs had said he would agree to stay for less than Green Bay’s offer if Las Vegas included incentives. Moving toward a setup with a much lower-cost backfield, the Raiders declined.
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This effort came after a few teams reached out to Jacobs’ camp with interest. The Broncos, Cardinals, Giants and Texans were previously mentioned as suitors, with Pompei adding the Dolphins and Bears also expressed some degree of interest. But the former first-round pick said the Chiefs also expressed interest. Some old-school animosity, even regarding a rivalry that probably peaked in the 1960s and early ’70s, factored into Jacobs’ decision to not reciprocate that interest.
“They were trying to get me hard,” Jacobs said of the Chiefs. “But there was no way I was going there. I feel like once you are rivals with somebody, you have a genuine hate for them. I couldn’t see myself in that color. And besides, I never wanted to be the guy that joined the dominant team. I want to be the guy that beats the dominant team.”
It is unclear if the Chiefs made an offer on par with the Packers’, but Green Bay’s proposal included just $12.5MM guaranteed at signing. The Packers traditionally do not include second-year guarantees for non-quarterbacks, though they would owe Jacobs a $5.93MM roster bonus on Day 5 of the 2025 league year. It represents a decent bet Jacobs is a Packer for at least two seasons, though the Chiefs’ pursuit is interesting given the makeup of their RB room.
Kansas City has starter Isiah Pacheco at seventh-round money for two more seasons, and the team re-signed Clyde Edwards-Helaire for just one year and $1.7MM. Kansas City did host J.K. Dobbins before the Edwards-Helaire recommitment, but the oft-injured ex-Raven agreed to a low-cost Chargers deal to reunite with Greg Roman. Kansas City has not spent much on running backs during the Andy Reid era. Reid coached Jamaal Charles for four seasons and signed off on a 2014 extension, but that only guaranteed the elusive RB $8.3MM. Charles’ more notable extension came back in 2010 under Scott Pioli.
The team’s Jacobs interest is an interesting “what if?” regarding Pacheco’s status, but the hard-charging runner having gained 1,765 rushing yards in two seasons certainly represents great value from the seventh round. Edwards-Helaire, rookie UDFA Carson Steele and the recently added Samaje Perine join the starter as the AFC West power aims for a threepeat.
Additionally, Jacobs indicated (via Pompei) the Giants offered around $3-$4MM more than the Packers. Though, this account does not specify if that means $3-$4MM more per year, in total or in guarantees. The Giants guaranteed Devin Singletary $9.5MM on a three-year, $16.5MM deal. Jacobs has been a better player during his career, and he committed to the Packers around two hours before the ex-Bills draftee joined the Giants.
The Giants were also willing to guarantee Saquon Barkley around $22MM via their 2023 extension offer. Big Blue memorably balked at another Barkley deal, but they appear to have been willing to go beyond where they went for Singletary to add Jacobs, who balked at New York due to taxes, the media market and MetLife Stadium’s turf.
The Giants and Raiders both let their standout backs play out seasons on the franchise tag; Jacobs said his 2023 negotiations broke trust with the Las Vegas regime. This went far enough Jacobs revealed to Pompei he was willing to report in late November in order to collect an accrued season, but the then-Dave Ziegler-led Raiders front office became the rare team to provide a raise for a tagged player. Jacobs signed a one-year, $11.8MM tender — north of the $10.1MM number attached to Barkley and Tony Pollard.
Jacobs, 26, did end up stumping for Antonio Pierce, but he does not appear to have been especially high on the Ziegler-Josh McDaniels regime, indicating “trust was missing” regarding he and the team going into last season. These comments do, however, come after the Alabama alum had said the slate was clean after he signed his franchise tender.
The Raiders, who were believed to be interested in re-signing Jacobs (just not at the rate other teams went to), have given backup Zamir White their starting job, with primary 2023 Vikings starter Alexander Mattison set as the backup.
