The Las Vegas Raiders offense will face significant alterations now that running back Josh Jacobs has left the organization. He was the focal point of the offense for years until signing a four-year, $48 million contract with the Green Bay Packers in free agency.
While Jacobs wanted to stay in Las Vegas, and the team hoped to re-sign him, the Packers’ offer was too much. There has been conjecture that Jacobs chose the Packers over the Raiders, but The Athletic’s Vic Tafur believes it was simply a matter of money.
“I am trying my best to stop shooting down people’s reports and keep my monster truck in my lane, but nah, that’s not true,” Tafur said in a March 29 mailbag. “The Raiders made what they thought was a reasonable offer — and it was the second-best offer — but it didn’t compare to the Packers’ offer of $14.8 million guaranteed in Year 1 (and presumably $23 million over two years).
“And that’s okay. Jacobs was a superb Raiders player who accepted more money to join a playoff team that included old friend Rich Bisaccia on staff. This is his hard-earned right. The Raiders had a “fair” number that they were not going to change, and experience shows that is usually prudent with running backs.
Jacobs didn’t seem pleased that the Raiders didn’t re-sign him, but it looks that the Packers offered him significantly more money than any other team.
As Vic Tafur mentioned, Josh Jacobs is joining a familiar face in Green Bay. Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia worked with Jacobs with the Raiders from 2019 to 2021, including a stint as interim head coach in 2021.
Bisaccia may have contributed to the Packers’ relentless pursuit of Jacobs, according to head coach Matt LaFleur.
“I think Rich definitely spoke highly of him,” LaFleur recently told The Athletic. “I believe that any coach on staff who has previously worked with a kid like that is always interested in hearing what they have to say about him. He enthused about the individual, the player, and the worker.”
Jacobs should fit in nicely with the Packers, and he won’t have to worry about his contract status for the first time in years.
Players like Josh Jacobs aren’t easy to replace. It appears that Zamir White will be the Raiders’ starting running back next season. The club also signed Alexander Mattison and re-signed Ameer Abdullah.
That’s a good running back room if White continues where he left off last season. He took over as starting running back for an injured Jacobs in the final four games of last season, rushing for 397 yards. White appeared to be the real deal for the Raiders, but it was a limited sample size.
If White does well, Las Vegas will not think about Jacobs’ departure. If he stumbles, the team will probably have some regrets. Regardless, $48 million is a high price to pay a running back in today’s NFL, so the Raiders should be fine.
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