The playoff success and quarterback consistency of the Packers are’very exciting’ for the new starting running back. Josh Jacobs

Josh Jacobs’ choice to sign with the Packers was strengthened by Jordan Love’s development and the group of players surrounding him.

Green Bay, Wisconsin — Josh Jacobs is no stranger to stability at the quarterback position, having started four of his first five NFL seasons with—mostly—the same face behind center.

However, it could be difficult to locate a season when Derek Carr, the new cornerstone of the Green Bay Packers, looked as good as Jordan Love. Derek Carr was a former second-round pick of the Oakland Raiders and played 142 games there. Love hasn’t played in a single Pro Bowl, but Carr has been selected to four, and his one season as the starting quarterback for the Packers was more than deserving of it.

Indeed, one of the main reasons Jacobs traveled to the Midwest was Love and the Packers’ difficult beginning, which eventually aligned into a turnaround in the middle of the season and a postseason berth.

It’s entertaining to watch someone so young perform at such a high level beside someone who will be around for a very long time, don’t you think? must be able to rely on something reliable and be aware of what to expect from a man every single week,” Jacobs stated on Friday. In the locker room, which doubled as an introduction news conference, he and recently acquired safety Xavier McKinney addressed local reporters.

“That’s very exciting for me.”

Along with Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry and Tony Pollard, the 26-year-old Jacobs helped headline a star-studded free-agent class of running backs. The Packers seemed like an unlikely destination for either one of those suitors considering they already had Aaron Jones. Even more unlikely was any prospect that the Packers would release Jones despite one of his least productive years in the league; he played in just 11 games while battling through hamstring and knee injuries at various points throughout what was a strenuous campaign. However, he rushed for over 100 yards in five consecutive games to end the year, starting with a Dec. 24 nail-biting win over the Carolina Panthers and ending with the devastating Divisional Round loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

But the Packers knew Jones’ best days may be behind him, so team brass and Jones’ representatives remained in contract throughout the weeks leading up to and through the NFL Scouting Combine. The Packers wanted him to take a significant pay cut—one that would see his salary slashed by 50 percent. Both sides weren’t able to compromise, so the Packers released Jones and no more than 16 hours later, he signed a one-year, $7 million dollar deal with the Minnesota Vikings.

With Jones headed for unrestricted free agency, the Packers pivoted to Jacobs, who admitted on Friday that he was fielding offers from roughly a dozen teams.

“Ultimately, like I said, I liked what they had going on [in Green Bay],” he said, “going to the playoffs and actually competing for the Super Bowl like that is something I’ve always wanted to be a part of. I told them that playoff ball is a little different and I haven’t really experienced it; that was definitely something I wanted to leave my mark on.”

In five seasons with the Raiders, Jacobs appeared in just one playoff game—a seven-point loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, who would appear in the Super Bowl to conclude that 2021 season. He’d respond to the missed opportunity by leading the league in rushing the following season, accumulating 1,653 yards on the ground and finding the end zone 12 times.

At just 26 years old, the Packers are optimistic that the version of Jacobs that they’re getting is closer to his 2022 self rather than 2023. Coming off of a first-team All-Pro year, Jacobs played in just 13 games last season while rushing for 805 yards—less than half of what he tallied the year prior. His 12 touchdowns were also cut in half, only scoring six times in 2023.

Amid an underwhelming season, though, Jacobs was able to witness Love and the Packers for himself. The Packers were just beginning a dismal skid through the month of October that saw them lose four games in a row—one of them being a clash against the Raiders on “Monday Night Football.”

“I was telling people when we were scouting for when we were playing them last year, I’ve seen him make some throws a lot of people can’t do,” Jacobs recalled, “running back on one foot and slinging it on a dime. That kind of got me excited, just thinking about it from watching film.”