Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs has been there before.
He had a tremendous season in 2022 for the Las Vegas Raiders, leading the NFL in rushing with 1,653 yards and totaling 2,053 yards from scrimmage for the campaign. He was both a Pro Bowler and a first-team All-Pro, and he seemingly cemented himself as the top running back in the league.
The next season, though? Jacobs struggled with a quad injury that cost him the last four games of the 2023 campaign.
So yes, he's been injured and as a veteran NFL running back, he knows the toll the game can take on you. That's why he's perhaps the perfect mentor for Green Bay rookie running back MarShawn Lloyd, who just got placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury he suffered at the end of the Packers' 16-10 win against the Indianapolis Colts last weekend.
Lloyd has already been injured three times. He suffered a hip injury in training camp and then had a hamstring issue during preseason.
That's enough to get any young player down, but Lloyd recently revealed that Jacobs has been a big help for him mentally.
“He’s been through it,” Lloyd said of Jacobs, according to Dominique Yates of Packers News. "Every time I say something about it, or I come up to him and say, ‘Can’t catch a break,’ Josh will stop me and let me know it happens."
Lloyd will now have to sit out a minimum of four games, but with Jacobs once again performing like one of the best running backs in football and second-year backup Emanuel Wilson looking capable, the Packers obviously would like the rookie to take the time he needs to heal so that he can come back for the second half of the season strong.
