Josh Jacobs’ finger injury may have nudged the Packers closer to making a move before Tuesday’s trade deadline, even though Green Bay was already poking around the running back market.
That’s the read from Amazon’s James Palmer, who reported that the Packers have been active in RB conversations and that the gap between Jacobs and the rest of the room is hard to ignore inside the building. As Palmer put it: “Packers have been involved in RB conversations ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. The run game issues go beyond the RBs on the roster, but if you ask anyone in that building they’ll tell you there is a sizable gap between Jacobs and the rest of the group,” wrote the NFL insider.
Palmer also made clear that Green Bay does not see its backup backs as the only issue dragging down the ground game. Still, the report points to a team that may not feel great about riding out the rest of the season with the current depth chart if Jacobs is compromised.
The timing is interesting because the Packers just turned in their best rushing day without Jacobs. Johnson posted a season-high 68 yards on 14 carries, giving Green Bay a much-needed spark. Even so, the production still left plenty to be desired.
Johnson’s day stood out even more because of how little he had been used before Sunday. He was inactive for the previous two games despite not carrying an injury designation.
After he fumbled in Week 4, his role shrank over the next two weeks. When Jacobs came back, Johnson was pushed out of the lineup entirely.
MarShawn Lloyd also had trouble making the most of his chances while Jacobs was out, finishing with 27 yards on nine carries. That uneven stretch led Green Bay to make Lloyd inactive in Week 8 and bring Johnson back into the mix. That move set Johnson up to handle the load once Jacobs went down on Sunday.
Johnson answered with a respectable outing, but the Packers may still want more certainty behind Jacobs if the veteran misses time. Adding a steadier backup would give Green Bay another option instead of continuing to shuffle between Johnson and Lloyd.
For now, the expectation is that Jacobs will play this week. The bigger question is whether his injured hand will allow him to secure the ball cleanly. That uncertainty is exactly the kind of thing that can change a team’s thinking fast.
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