Packers Roasted for One of the Worst Moves of the Offseason
The Green Bay Packers have spent the NFL offseason improving their roster in hopes of being Super Bowl contenders next season. Free-agent names like Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney were signed while promising rookies like Jordan Morgan and Edgerrin Cooper are supposed to help take Green Bay to the next level.
But regardless of how much Packers fans loved the team's offseason decisions, there will always be haters out there. In fact, a doubtful NFL writer has deemed one of Green Bay's offseason moves as one of the worst of the offseason.
Packers News: Will Green Bay Regret Signing Josh Jacobs?
In an article discussing 10 offseason moves that NFL teams will regret, Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox has expressed concerns about the Packers signing Josh Jacobs. After spending his first five seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders, the veteran running back joined Green Bay on a four-year, $48 million contract once free agency opened.
Jacobs' arrival meant the exit of Aaron Jones. Packers fans who were hoping to see a 1-2 punch of Jacobs and Jones were left disappointed when Green Bay waived the latter back in March, allowing the latter to sign with the rival Minnesota Vikings instead. It was a tough pill for a chunk of the fanbase to swallow given that Jones had played over 100 games in a Packers jersey since being drafted 182nd overall in 2017.
Nevertheless, Knox's main issue with the signing is that he doesn't see Jacobs as a major upgrade over Jones. Yes, injuries plagued Jones' 2023 campaign and raised some concerns, but let's also not act as if Jacobs didn't miss last season's final four games before dealing with an offseason hamstring injury.
There's also the fact that Jacobs is coming off a down year. After averaging an NFL-leading 97.2 rushing yards per game in 2022, the ex-Alabama product only averaged 61.9 last year. That's without mentioning how his 3.5 yards per carry were a new personal worst.
The regular season was also a down year for Jones, but he quickly turned things around once the postseason began. He showed that he had plenty of juice in the tank in playoff matchups against the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers, racking up 247 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 39 carries.
Jacobs is three years younger than Jones, so he does have that going for him. At the same time, it's up to him to prove that he can return to his 2022 form. The Packers have one of the best offenses on paper, so there's no excuse for him not to be more productive than he was last season.
If Jacobs can't turn back the clock and Jones ends up balling out for the rival Vikings, you can bet that plenty of Packers fans will raise their pitchforks at GM Brian Gutekunst.
The good news is that, despite what Knox thinks, Green Bay's future is brighter than that of Minnesota. FanDuel Sportsbook is currently giving the Packers the second-best NFC North odds (+185), whereas the Vikings are in dead last at a distant +900.
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