Former Raider Finds Himself in Difficult Spot

Former Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs left the Silver and Black for the Green Bay Packers. He wanted a better team and a better quarterback. Now, he finds himself in an unfavorable position.

Sep 6, 2024; Sao Paulo, BRA; Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) runs during the second half against the Philadelphia Eagles at Neo Quimica Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Josh Jacobs left the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason and joined the Green Bay Packers. It signified the end of a short career in silver and black, one that saw a first-team All-Pro season, 1,000-yard seasons, and a workhorse role adequately filled.

Jacobs will not be considered the best Raiders running back of all time. That title belongs to Hall-of-Famer Marcus Allen.

Jacobs' ability to do it all was special, but he wasn't the fastest or most gifted ball carrier in the Silver and Black's history. Those superlatives go to Bo Jackson. Even if these later generations are colloqiually bigger, stronger, and faster -- Bo will likely always stand the test of time.

Early this summer, Jacobs posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, about his lack of a Raiders goodbye.

"[Middle finger emoji] a fake a -- goodbye," Jacobs wrote. "It ain’t no hate to the Raiders they made a business decision and so did I it’s simple move on."

"No hate," as he said, but definitely an eyebrow-raiser in the message's execution. It should be noted that the middle finger was to the user he was replying to. However, "fake" makes one wonder.

The micro-aggressive comments came throughout the summer. The most notable might have been his appearance on former NFL star Chris Long's "Green Light" podcast.

"The most frustrating thing about it all I feel like, especially when you got like me, Tae [Davante Adams], and Maxx [Crosby], you got guys that come in every day and work hard, and you don't get the results," Jacobs said. "And then it gets to the point where like, 'OK, I'm working hard, and I'm doing every little detail, every little step, and I'm still not getting the results. So, I didn't have the answers. And that's the part that was the most frustrating is like, OK, you do everything that you're asked of, but you still don't get the result that you want or this or that. And it's like you'll be close, but every year you're close, but it's not winning. So, that was a big thing for me, too. I'm like, 'Man, y'all want me to come back on a discount and lose? I don't know how I feel about that.'"

Jacobs joined the Packers to ostensibly be part of a winning culture. Key component with winner over workhorse with loser, essentially. Problem: Packers quarterback Jordan Love sustained an injury against the Eagles.

Packers On SI publisher Bill Huber wrote, "There’s little doubt the [Indianapolis] Colts will defend a Malik Willis-led offense much differently than they would have defended a Love-led attack."

The onus will be on Jacobs. His job will be difficult, he'll be carrying more than just the ball -- maybe some deja vu setting in?

"The Colts figure to load the box to stop Jacobs and put the ball in the hands of the quarterback who’s been in Green Bay for less than three weeks," Huber wrote. "Running the football, obviously, will be of critical importance on Sunday. The Packers can’t afford to have Willis living in third-and-long the entire game. The key will be cleaning up the early-game blocking miscues from last week and grinding away for additional yards."

Jacobs rushed for 104 yards in Week 1. Week 2 could be a much different story.

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