New Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs made headlines with his outright refusal to join a fierce rival team, the Kansas City Chiefs.
When Jacobs found himself at odds with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023, there were whispers that the Chiefs were interested in bringing him on board. Despite these overtures, Jacobs made it clear he had no intention of crossing over to a team with which the Raiders have a deep-seated rivalry.
The division rivalry between the Raiders and the Chiefs is well-known, and Jacobs wasn’t willing to stoke the flames by aligning himself with one of their biggest adversaries.
His decision to reject the Chiefs underscores a deliberate choice to avoid intensifying the competitive tension within the division, demonstrating his loyalty to his previous team and its fierce rivalries.
By joining the Packers instead, Jacobs not only sidesteps a controversial move but also strategically positions himself away from the intense scrutiny that would have come with a Chiefs deal.
Early last offseason, Josh Jacobs felt the Raiders’ cold indifference, while other teams eagerly reached out with open arms. His agent was inundated with offers from the Bears, Broncos, Cardinals, Dolphins, Giants, Packers, and Texans. But the most tantalizing proposal came from the Chiefs—a team that would have been a provocative choice given their intense rivalry with Jacobs’ former team.
“They were trying to get me hard,” he said. “But there was no way I was going there. I feel like once you are rivals with somebody, you have a genuine hate for them. I couldn’t see myself in that color. And besides, I never wanted to be the guy that joined the dominant team. I want to be the guy that beats the dominant team.”
Rather than stirring the pot by joining a divisional rival, Josh Jacobs opted for a different battleground. Last March, he signed a lucrative four-year, $48 million contract with the Green Bay Packers.
Now, Jacobs is set to be the Packers’ premier running back as they kick off the 2024 season on September 6 against the Philadelphia Eagles in Sao Paolo, sidestepping any potential drama with his old rivals.
