The Green Bay Packers offense is going to have some new faces in 2024. One of their biggest moves of the offseason was signing running back Josh Jacobs away from the Las Vegas Raiders. He will have some big shoes to fill, replacing long-time starter Aaron Jones in the backfield.
Over at Bleacher Report, David Kenyon named the Packers signing of Josh Jacobs one of the best moves of the offseason. A reason for that is how low-risk the transaction will be for the franchise moving forward.
“Based solely on his four-year, $48 million pact, Josh Jacobs isn’t exactly a bargain for the Green Bay Packers. It’s a comparable rate to what Aaron Jones may have earned. The finer details, though, are much kinder to the team. The worst-case scenario is Green Bay could move on from Jacobs with limited cap impact after the season, and the best-case outlook is the Packers added a versatile All-Pro back,” Kenyon wrote.
The four-year, $48 million contract is not what it seems. The way the deal is structured, as Kenyon hints, the Packers have some safeguards in the deal. It is essentially a one-year, $13.2 million deal that Green Bay can go year-to-year with.
If Josh Jacobs plays well in 2024, the team can retain him for 2025 for only $8.2 million, which is a steal even with the compressed running back market. If a second season in Green Bay is productive again, all it would cost the Packers in 2026 to have him again is $11.5 million.
It would not be surprising if Josh Jacobs and his representatives want to re-negotiate at some point, especially if he can get close to playing at the level he did in 2022. That season, he led the NFL in rushing yards with 1,653 yards. He also led the league with 393 touches and 2,053 total yards.
How much this deal benefits the Packers alone is enough to land them on the top moves of the 2024 NFL offseason list. On the field, it can certainly be argued that Jones is a superior player to Josh Jacobs, but the Alabama product does have some things working in his favor.
Paramount among them is that he is 26, while Jones turns 30 in December. Getting younger at the running back position and potentially saving some money along the way are two wins for the Packers.
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