Update: Giants Never Made Offer to Former Raiders RB Josh Jacobs During Free Agency

Jacobs signed with the Packers

Aug 10, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) before the game against the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium. / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

UPDATE: Dan Pompei of The Athletic has clarified his report that former Las Vegas running back Josh Jacobs turned down an offer from the New York Giants worth up to $4 million more than what he signed with the Green Bay Packers. He now says the Giants made no offer in the first place.

Okay so since this came out, a league source tells me the Giants never made an offer to Jacobs. Apologies for the spikes in blood pressures. And please permit Joe Schoen to see another sunrise. https://t.co/QVc7ACgOon

— Dan Pompei (@danpompei) September 1, 2024

Running back Josh Jacobs was heavily sought after in free agency once it became apparent that he was not returning to the Las Vegas Raiders, the team with whom he had spent the first five years of his career.

One of his interested suitors was reportedly the New York Giants. In an interview with Dan Pompei of The Athletic, it was claimed that the Giants made a very competitive offer that ended up being around $4 million more than the 4-year, $48 million offer the running back ultimately accepted from the Green Bay Packers.

According to Pompei, Jacobs wasn't interested in the Giants because he “was turned off” by the whole New York scene–the taxes, lifestyle, media coverage. He also did not like the artificial turf at MetLife Stadium, the Giants’ home venue.

Earlier this year, Jacobs, who first revealed the Giants’ interest in him during an interview with ESPN’s Rob Demovsky in which it was again reported that Jacobs took $3- $4 million less than what others offered him, said the state of the Giants being in a rebuild mode did not appeal to him.

"I didn't want to go to a team where I felt like I was going to be in a rebuilding situation," Jacobs told Demovsky. "I didn't want to go to a team where I didn't feel like I was going to come in and immediately make an impact and be able to be one of the factors to get over the hump."

Demovsky, however, never stated that the Giants were one of the teams to make an offer for Jacobs.

The idea of the Giants allegedly looking to splurge on Jacobs or any other runnin back after failing to do so on Barkley contradicts what was shown in Hard Knocks.

Schoen, when discussing the possibility of re-signing Barkley, seemed turned off by the idea of paying that kind of money to a running back, considering the financial investment made in quarterback Daniel Jones.

“You’re paying the guy [Jones] $40 million, it’s not to hand the ball off to a $12 million back,” he said.   

Jacobs’s contract with the Packers came in at $12 million APY.

According to a source, the Giants never formally offered Jacobs a contract, which would be consistent with what Schoen said on Hard Knocks.

The Giants signed Devin Singletary, a running back with whom general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll were familiar from their days with the athlete in Buffalo. 

Singletary, who has never recorded a 1,000-yard season but who has been durable and who has led every NFL team he’s been a part of in rushing yardage, signed a “bargain” three-year deal worth $16.5 million with $9.5 million guaranteed, or $5.5 million APY.

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