Running back Josh Jacobs is set to make his Packers debut next Friday in Brazil, but there was a chance he could have kicked off his 2024 season one day earlier.
Jacobs told Dan Pompei of TheAthletic.com that he didn’t “really didn’t want to up and move” as a free agent this offseason, but that the Raiders made it clear that they were not going to offer him the same kind of deal that others were willing to put on the table. Jacobs said he heard from seven teams other than the Packers and that one of the biggest pushes came from the Raiders’ AFC West rivals from Kansas City.
While the Chiefs were making a serious push, Jacobs said there was never any consideration of joining up with a team he’s been trying to beat for his entire career.
“They were trying to get me hard,” Jacobs said. “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.”
The Chiefs didn’t wind up making a notable addition to their backfield in free agency and Jacobs moved on to Green Bay for what he hopes will be a run at the kind of team success that eluded him throughout his time with the Raiders.