We have our first major surprise of the NFL’s legal tampering period, with news breaking early Monday afternoon that the Green Bay Packers had agreed to terms with former Raiders RB Josh Jacobs. Aaron Jones is still under contract with the Packers, but today’s news combined with Jones’s cap hit mean he could be on the move sooner rather than later.
Let’s examine the immediate implications and fantasy impact of Jacobs agreeing to terms with the Packers.
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Josh Jacobs Agrees to Deal With Green Bay Packers
On the surface the move seems like a head-scratcher, but Jones’ age (29) and injury history entering a contract year make the move seem more logical when looking beyond just the 2024 season.
Also, the idea of Jones being cut outright has been floated around given his salary cap allotment for the second-largest cap hit among RBs in 2024. Jacobs might be a Packers three-down bell cow before it is all said and done. Recall, the Packers were interested in Jonathan Taylor last season. They have been looking to move on. Jones also took a pay cut last season to be a Packer. He made not so willing to do so two years in a row, especially after the Jacobs addition.
Clearly I spoke to soon…as the Packers informed Aaron Jones he would be released. Can’t say I am surprised.
As for the new Packers starting RB…
Jacobs had a rollercoaster 2023 season, starting slow but then performing well until a quad injury knocked him out of the last four games of the season.
The former rushing champion was on my do-not-draft list during the 2023 offseason, as the track record of RBs leading the NFL in touches the year before was horrible. Jacobs, unfortunately, lived up to the billing, finishing the year as the RB23 overall averaging 12.5 points per game (RB19).
Still, he flashed his 2022 league-winner form in three of his four starts under Antonio Pierce, seeing carry totals of 27, 26, 20 and 14 while averaging 14.9 points per game (RB6).
The Packers landed the top free agent running backs available at just 26 years old. Even if Jones sticks around, Jacobs looks to the future of the Packers’ backfield in an up-and-coming offense that looks to take another step forward in 2024.
And when it comes to last season for Jacobs…I wouldn’t read too much into Jacobs’s brutally inefficient season as a rusher in 2023 – as it looks more like a complete outlier compared to the rest of his career. Before the 2023 season, Jacobs had never finished worse than RB21 (rookie year) with three straight RB1 finishes between 2020-2022.
He’s still young and is poised to bounce back in a big way for the Packers in 2024. He looks like a fantasy RB1 to me.
As for what’s left over in Las Vegas…
Looks like Zamir White is in the driver’s seat to be the RB1 for the Black Hole. Makes sense, given how well a much cheaper White played the last part of the season. The team also re-signed Ameer Abdullah.
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