In a recent feature story on Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky dropped a nugget about the Denver Broncos.
The Broncos were among 10 to 12 teams who showed interest in Jacobs this offseason, according to the running back. He ruled out three of them — including Denver — because of their 2024 outlook.
“I didn’t want to go to a team where I felt like I was going to be in a rebuilding situation,” Jacobs told ESPN. “I didn’t want to go to a team where I didn’t feel like I was going to come in and immediately make an impact and be able to be one of the factors to get over the hump.”
Jacobs eliminated the Broncos, Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants from contention because they were rebuilding.
“In fact, he said he took $3 million to $4 million less than what other teams offered him when he signed the four-year, $48 million deal with the Packers,” according to Demovsky.
It’s not surprising that Denver showed interest. Before Jacobs re-signed on a one-year deal with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023, Broncos coach Sean Payton hinted during Super Bowl week that he was interested in the RB. Jacobs hit free agency again this spring and ended up joining the Packers.
Jacobs has been a thorn in the side of Denver’s defense for years, totaling 950 yards from scrimmage and scoring nine touchdowns in eight career games against the Broncos. Now that Jacobs is entering the second half of his career, though, giving him a big contract would have been a risky move.
After missing out on Jacobs during NFL free agency, Denver went on to draft Audric Estime and sign UDFA Blake Watson. With younger, cheaper running backs on the 90-man offseason roster, not giving a big contract to Jacobs might have been the best outcome for the Broncos anyway.
