Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
This offseason, two high-profile Pro Bowl running backs left the original team that drafted them to join organizations in a much stronger position to contend this season. It happened when Josh Jacobs left the Las Vegas Raiders for the Green Bay Packers, and Saquon Barkley left the New York Giants for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Both situations transferred talented running backs from teams that missed the playoffs to ones coming off a playoff berth. Of course, it took a heaping pile of cash to coax the players to new destinations. In the case of Jacobs, he signed a four-year, $48 million contract.
Jacobs, 26, was one year removed from leading the NFL in rushing, with 1,653 yards, and earning first-team All-Pro honors. But he hasn’t made the playoffs since 2021. Meanwhile, his new team, the Packers, have only missed the postseason once since Jacobs arrived in the NFL as the 24th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
If we didn’t know it before, now we know why Jacobs decided to ditch the Raiders for Green and Gold. It was because he was tired of losing, but we’re guessing the Packers’ strong contract offer didn’t hurt either.
Here, Jacobs can be seen displaying just how important winning is in his football career. It’s all he’s known, dating back to his college days at Alabama. Yet, once he arrived in the NFL with the Raiders, he saw a team that became complacent with losing. That’s not okay to Jacobs.
The Raiders have since made several changes, including hiring Antonio Pierce as their head coach. The culture in Las Vegas is nowhere near where it was under Josh McDaniels anymore, yet Jacobs landed in a strong place with Matt LaFleur in Green Bay, too.
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