The Green Bay Packers approach training camp as a team that is once again a borderline Super Bowl contender after three straight trips to the playoffs, but major questions persist across a handful of important position groups, including the offensive backfield.
Running back Josh Jacobs is entering the third season of his four-year, $48 million contract in Green Bay. However, he is coming off a down year statistically in 2025 compared to his first campaign with the Packers after battling injury over the second half of the season.
Jacobs is also facing legal issues involving an arrest linked to alleged domestic abuse. He has denied those allegations and is not yet facing any criminal charges, though they could come in the future.
Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated took a deep dive into the position group on Sunday, June 28, shining a specific lens on Jacobs and the uncertainty he represents inside one of the most expensive running back rooms in the NFL (third overall at a total salary cap hit of nearly $21 million).
“Ideally, you’d want a high level of return on investment. Instead, the Packers have a high level of uncertainty,” Huber wrote. “Jacobs, who turned 28 in February, had across-the-board deductions in production last season compared to his debut year with the team.”
Jacobs produced fewer yards per carry, fewer yards per attempt after contact and fewer broken tackles amid a significant decrease in total rushing yardage production. His production as a receiver out of the backfield also decreased across multiple meaningful categories.
Josh Jacobs’ Production Could Increase, Decrease This Season Based on Primary Cause for Issues in 2025
GettyRunning back Josh Jacobs of the Green Bay Packers.
In fairness to Jacobs, his knee injury almost certainly played a role in those reductions in numbers.
Huber also pointed out that all of the team’s running backs took a step back production-wise in 2025, and that development indicated the problems the Packers faced on the offensive line.
But Jacobs is also pushing the age of 30, around which the vast majority of running backs begin a precipitous slide. And his play style combined with his usage rate over the course of his seven-year career aren’t going to do Jacobs any favors in that regard.
“Jacobs has 2,109 touches in seven seasons. That’s about 300 per season for a player who hasn’t shied away from contact in his quest to squeeze every inch out of every run,” Huber continued. “So, yes, it’s certainly possible Father Time played a role in Jacobs’ diminished production last year.”
Marshawn Lloyd, a third-round pick of the Packers in 2024, has been healthy for the entirety of the offseason and could finally pay dividends for Green Bay behind Jacobs after appearing in only one game and amassing just six carries across his first two seasons in the league.
Packers Among Sleeper Super Bowl Candidates in 2026
GettyGreen Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love.
If Green Bay’s offensive line can stay healthier this season and return to an above-average unit in front of a relatively healthy backfield, the Packers could surprise with a deep run in the NFC.
That is the position of Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, who asserted as much Monday.
“I put the Packers alongside the [Seattle] Seahawks last year, as a team that could win it all if a bunch of young players elevated from good to great,” Breer wrote. “I feel the same way this year. It’s a talented roster. … A lot of pieces are in place.”
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