'I Knew the Relationship Was Over;' Green Bay Packers RB Josh Jacobs Describes the Concerning Incident that Led to His Raiders Exit

The Green Bay Packers made a couple of notable free agent signings this offseason, landing offensive guard Aaron Banks, cornerback Nate Hobbs, wide receiver Mecole Hardman, and linebacker Isaiah Simmons. And while these signings were solid, none of them really can compare to the haul the Packers made last offseason when they landed Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs and Pro Bowl safety Xavier McKinney.

It was the signing of Jacobs that surprised fans the most. He had a down year in 2023, but had led the NFL in rushing in 2022. Additionally, Green Bay had Aaron Jones under contract and had expected him to return. However, the signing of Jacobs, along with Jones’ refusal to take another pay cut, led to his release.

Green Bay Packers Running Back Josh Jacobs Reveals Why He Left the Las Vegas Raiders

Given his success with the Las Vegas Raiders, many expected Jacobs to spend the majority of his career with team that made him the 24th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. However, he bolted the organization once he hit free agency.

On Tuesday, it was revealed why he was so keen on leaving:

“What’s crazy is, when they were trying to get me to come sign [my fifth year option], before I came to sign, me and Maxx [Crosby] were on the phone. Maxx was just trying to make it work. Like, ‘Man, just come sign.’ So we come up there and we got like an hour left before we got to sign the paper. And me and Maxx were in the car.

“Dude comes up to my car and he’s talking to us and he’s moving his phone around. He’s on the phone with an interviewer. Literally on the phone with a reporter while he’s talking to me.

“Bro, so anytime I know there’s one reporter over there, anytime he had anything to say, and people would be like, ‘Where are people getting this information from?’ I’m like, ‘It’s coming from them.’

“So it was just like a weird situation, bro, I’m telling you. And it has nothing to do with the Raiders organization. It’s more so the people that they had in there at the time.

“And you know what made it worse? I see it, but I didn’t say nothing. Maxx was like, ‘Bro, did you see who he was on the phone with?’ And I was like, ‘Okay, so I’m not trippin’.’

“But that’s when I knew the relationship was over with.”

As one can see, a Raiders staffer tried to talk to Jacobs and Crosby while they were in their car waiting to sign their options, but was on the phone with a reporter at the same time, hoping to give them a story.

Obviously, Jacobs did not appreciate that.