NFL Week 1: Josh Jacobs to open in Brazil, not Kansas City

Running back Josh Jacobs will begin his 2024 NFL season with another team after five seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders, but he will make his debut on Friday night with the Green Bay Packers, not Thursday night with the Kansas City Chiefs.

When the former Alabama ball carrier entered free agency this season, Jacobs said one of his suitors was Kansas City. But even though the Chiefs have won the last two Super Bowls, Jacobs said he doesn't have much interest in playing for the Raiders' AFC West rival.

“Going against them and obviously not winning against them often has given me some resentment toward them,” Jacobs said during a Tuesday appearance on NFL Network's “Good Morning Football.” “But not only that, I was the underdog growing up. I went to Alabama to prove I belonged, so I went there for myself. Now that I feel like I belong, I don't want to be on the team that has all the pieces. I want to be on the team that figures it out and beats the Giants.”

The Packers signed the NFL's leading rusher for 2022 to a four-year, $48 million contract, and Green Bay appears to be “figuring it out” quickly. The Packers won six of their final eight regular-season games in 2023 to reach the playoffs. Green Bay opened the postseason with a 48-32 win over the Dallas Cowboys before the San Francisco 49ers ended the Packers' season with a 24-21 win in the second round of the NFC playoffs.

“What I've noticed about this offense since Day 1 is how explosive it is, man,” Jacobs said. “I mean, the tight ends, the receivers, obviously the quarterback, every play could be a big play. And that's what excites me the most. Obviously, having a top-five quarterback back there makes a lot of things easier and that makes it exciting for me, man. I don't have to run against full boxes every game. Teams definitely have to pick and choose what they want to stop.”

RELATED: PACKERS QUARTERBACK DOESN'T WANT JOSH JACOBS TO SET AN NFL RECORD

The 2024 season begins on Thursday evening with the Baltimore Ravens visiting Kansas City. The active rosters of the 32 NFL teams include 138 players from high schools and colleges in Alabama. Of these players, 27 are like Jacobs and have changed teams since the 2023 season. Another 22 are rookies.

The Packers' new players include former Alabama safety Xavier McKinney, who left the New York Giants as a free agent. Jacobs and McKinney will be with Green Bay in their season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Friday night.

“Definitely, with the journey being as long as it is, I'm just trying to enjoy it, man,” Jacobs said. “… The Eagles have had to go through the same situations we've had to go through. We're just going to try to go out there and make the best of it.”