Advertisement

Who is Josh Jacobs? Get to know one of the newest members of the Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are on the cusp of adding former first-team All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs, with news surfacing that they intend to sign the ex-Las Vegas Raiders ball-carrier after free agency officially opens Wednesday.

Here's what to know about Jacobs.

Las Vegas Raiders running back plays against the Green Bay Packers last season.
Las Vegas Raiders running back plays against the Green Bay Packers last season.

How old is Josh Jacobs?

Jacobs just turned 26 years old Feb. 11.

Where did Josh Jacobs go to college?

Jacobs attended Alabama, where he was part of the national-championship team in 2017, and he was MVP in the SEC championship game against Georgia as a junior in 2018, even after battling a week of flu-like symptoms. Alabama lost in the championship game after that season to Clemson. Jacobs was selected by the Raiders (then in Oakland) in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft with the 24th overall pick.

What are the terms of Josh Jacobs' contract in Green Bay?

Jacobs has been signed to a four-year deal worth $48 million. Of that, $12.5 million is guaranteed in the form of a signing bonus. He'll make a total of $14.8 million in the first year of the deal.

Jacobs would have cost the Raiders $14.1 million in 2024 if they had used the franchise tag on him for a second straight year. Last year, the tag was worth roughly $10.1 million, a deal the running back refused to sign. He later agreed to a one-year contract worth $11.8 million after holding out until August.

Las Vegas Raiders running back scores against the Green Bay Packers last season.
Las Vegas Raiders running back scores against the Green Bay Packers last season.

Josh Jacobs was at the center of a league-wide running back debate

With the contract situation playing out, running backs around the league voiced concern and support for Jacobs, Saquon Barkley and Dallas running back Tony Pollard, three running backs who weren't able to cash in for huge multiyear deals because the league seems to have adopted a more cautious approach to paying running backs.

Much was made when it was calculated that the average kicker salary in the NFL was greater than an average running back salary.

Josh Jacobs led the league in rushing in 2022 but had a down year in 2023

Jacobs has twice made the Pro Bowl, once in 2020 and again in 2022, when his 1,653 yards and 97.2 yards-per-game average both led the league. He was named first-team All-Pro that season. As a rookie, he was runner-up for NFL offensive rookie of the year, behind Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.

In 2023, he missed the final four games of the season with a quad injury and generated 895 rushing yards, with a career-low 3.5 yards per carry. He did, however, catch 37 of 54 targets (55.6%), which represented a career high. He had caught 53 and 54 passes the two preceding years, good for 400 and 348 receiving yards, respectively. Last year, he caught 37 balls for 296 yards.

In his five NFL seasons, Jacobs has accounted for 5,545 yards and 46 touchdowns on the ground. He averages 7.4 yards per reception in his career. Since he arrived in the league in 2019, only Derrick Henry (7,209 yards) has more rushing yards, though Nick Chubb (5,515) and Dalvin Cook (5,238) are not far behind.

How has Pro Football Focus rated Josh Jacobs?

The popular NFL grading site didn't have Josh Jacobs among its top 20 running backs in 2023 (with Aaron Jones of the Packers finishing ninth), but PFF did have Jacobs ranked as the No. 4 running back heading into the season, behind Chubb, Christian McCaffrey and Henry.

Has Josh Jacobs been healthy during his career?

Jacobs played in all 17 games during his All-Pro season two years ago and 13 last year before missing the final four with a quad injury.

He saw the field for 15 games in both 2021 and 2020, meaning he missed just three games over those two seasons, all because of toe and ankle injuries. He played in 13 games in 2019; after battling through a shoulder injury that he suffered in Week 7, he sat out Week 14 and then the final two games of the season while nursing that issue.

Three more things to know about Josh Jacobs

  • Jacobs lived out of his father's car at times and sometimes "lived out of our backpacks" bouncing from hotel to hotel when he was growing up; he wrote about it for the Players' Tribune in 2019. He detailed an incident in which he dodged gunshots at age 13 growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. "I’m never going to forget the nights spent in the back of that Suburban," he wrote. "I’ll never forget the motels. The gunshots. The helicopters. I know what it’s like to be scared. To be hungry. To have nothing in my future but uncertainty."

  • After a dearth of college recruiting interest despite impressive high school numbers, he said he was a lock to attend Wyoming two weeks before signing day, but then Alabama — his favorite team as a child — showed up.

  • Jacobs is Filipino-American and has a tattoo of his paternal grandmother on his left hand, a reminder of his heritage.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Get to know Josh Jacobs, the newest Green Bay Packers running back