Josh Jacobs prevented Chiefs from becoming a juggernaut in 2024

Before he signed with the Green Bay Packers in 2024 NFL free agency, former All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs was pursued by a quarter of the league. According to Jacobs himself in an article from The Athletic, among his suitors this offseason included the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Although Jacobs joined one of the top young teams in the NFL in the Packers, he prevented the Kansas City Chiefs from becoming an absolute juggernaut by standing on principle. It wasn't the money that caused him to turn down the Chiefs, but his time spent playing for the Las Vegas Raiders in the AFC West.

Jacobs didn't want to join a team he'd spent the first five years of his NFL career hating with every fiber of his being.

“They were trying to get me hard. But there was no way I was going there. I feel like once you are rivals with somebody, you have a genuine hate for them. I couldn’t see myself in that color. And besides, I never wanted to be the guy that joined the dominant team. I want to be the guy that beats the dominant team.”

- Josh Jacobs

You don't see this kind of mentality often in sports anymore. In fact, on a smaller scale, we just saw the Denver Broncos cut running back Samaje Perine who signed with the Kansas City Chiefs the next day. Even though Perine has been a rival of the Chiefs as a member of both the Broncos and the Bengals (obviously not a division rival, but a rival the last few years regardless), he was quick to join the back-to-back champs and obviously doesn't share the same sentiment as Jacobs.

Had Jacobs joined the Chiefs, it would have been arguably the final stone in the team's Infinity Gauntlet. The Chiefs, if they have any weaknesses on the roster, don't have the best set of skill players offensively. Of course, Travis Kelce has been one of the elite playmaking tight ends and Patrick Mahomes raises all boats anyway, but we've seen Kansas City shuffle through a lot of different wide receivers and they obviously felt like they could upgrade their running back stable, even with the presence of Isiah Pacheco.

Other AFC West teams are probably extremely thankful that the Chiefs didn't land Jacobs in free agency, but teams the Chiefs will likely be playing deep into January and maybe even in the Super Bowl are grateful as well. Jacobs is the type of player you can trust to put the ball in his hands late in games to bleed out clock, or to create offense with his ability to churn out yardage after contact.

The last thing the Chiefs need is more competitive advantages, and Jacobs would have given them a big one.