RB Josh Jacobs rips Raiders for ‘losing’ culture

Josh Jacobs was unhappy playing for the Raiders. And now the newest Packers running back explained why he wanted to jump from Vegas to another team.

It was about winning games. The Raiders didn’t do much of that. In fact, the only time the Raiders made the playoffs while Jacobs was in the lineup was in 2021.

“That went (into) me leaving,” Jacobs said during a recent interview on the “Green Light with Chris Long” podcast. “Coming from Alabama, I went to a championship every year I was there. I remember coming to the league and losing my first game, and I was mad and not talking to nobody. A vet came up to me and was like, ‘This is the NFL. You’re going to lose.’ I’m like, ‘So y’all cool with losing?’ It was so different. 

“Then, the most frustrating thing about it all, you’ve got me, and Tae (Davante Adams) and Maxx (Crosby). You’ve got guys who come in every day and work hard, and you don’t get the results. … You’ll be close every year, but (we’re) not winning. You want me to come back on a discount and lose? I don’t know how I feel about that.”

A small note to that narrative. Jacobs has tried to entice Adams back to the Packers.

The Packers will look different with Jacobs in the backfield. They signed the former Raider, who won the NFL rushing title in 2022. And they opted to let fan favorite Aaron Jones to leave the team as a free agent. Jones then signed with the Vikings, an NFC North rival.

The Packers are a tradition-rich NFL team. But then again, so are the Raiders. But Green Bay, after missing the playoffs in Aaron Rodgers‘ final season, seems to be on the upswing. With Jordan Love under center, the Packers still are a young team. They gelled late in 2023 and earned the seventh and final seed in the NFC playoff bracket. Then the Packers pulled off an upset of the Cowboys in the first round and pushed the 49ers in the second.

That’s why this off-season, there’s a lot of buzz coming out of Lambeau. Jacobs is one of the reasons. The Packers also revamped the defense as they switch to a 4-3 base.

Jacobs and the rest of his Packers teammates report Sunday for training camp. It’ll start next Monday. That’s a bit of an early training camp start for Green Bay. It’s because they open the regular season on Sept. 6, a Friday night, against the Eagles in Brazil.