The Green Bay Packers made many significant personnel moves this offseason. Defensive coordinator Joe Barry was fired and subsequently replaced by former Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley. Green Bay also decided to move on from long-time players and fan favorites David Bakhtiari and Aaron Jones, as well as other players who played significant roles on the team over the last few seasons.
Bakhtiari, of course, was released this past offseason to save over $20 million on the salary cap. While many will point to the fact that he only played 13 games in the last three seasons, the likelihood that he would have been on the team with a $40 million cap hit in 2024 was not great regardless of his health.
Jones, the franchise’s third all-time leading rusher, was also released to save money on the salary cap. He has since signed with the Minnesota Vikings.
To replace these star players, the Packers looked to both free agency and the draft.
Green Bay Packers Free Agent Signings and 2024 NFL Draft Picks Have Big Shoes to Fill
In order to replace Bakhtiari, the Packers signed free agent tackle Andre Dillard. While he has not performed well during his past few seasons with the Tennessee Titans, he does add some needed depth to an offensive line that saw three players, including Bakhtiari, leave the team. Green Bay also selected Jordan Morgan, Jacob Monk, and Travis Glover in the 2024 NFL Draft.
In an effort to replace Jones, the Packers signed 2022 NFL rushing leader and First Team All-Pro Josh Jacobs. They also drafted Marshawn Lloyd from USC in the third round of the draft and re-signed AJ Dillon to an extremely team-friendly deal.
Jacobs comes into organized team activities primed to be the team’s premier running back in 2024 and has already started doing events to meet and greet fans. However, while he did dress and do some light work on Tuesday, he was not participating in team drills.
Green Bay Packers Running Back Josh Jacobs Is Dealing with a Hamstring Injury
While Packers fans may be excited to see Jacobs running for Green Bay, they will have to wait a little longer for clips of him doing so in practice. While he was dressed for practice and even took some reps as punt returner, he did not participate in 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 drills.
Apparently, Jacobs is nursing a slightly injured hamstring and the team did not want to risk a severe injury.
During his press conference after practice, head coach Matt LaFleur said that the injury is nothing to worry about:
#Packers HC Matt LaFleur doesn’t want you to freak out about Josh Jacobs’ hamstring issue:
“We anticipate him back pretty shortly.”
LaFleur has a 90% reliability rating on injury coachspeak
We expect Jacobs back soon pic.twitter.com/A0ZrzXdRno
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) May 22, 2024
Jacobs missed the Las Vegas Raiders’ final four games of the 2023 NFL season with a quad injury.
The Packers have the day off on Wednesday before resuming practices on Thursday. It will be interesting to see if Jacobs is back then, or if he will need a few more days.
One thing is for sure, though, he will not be out of practice long.
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