Brandon Jacobs May Have Tweeted Himself Off the 49ers

He has two Super Bowl rings from the days when he was the featured back with the New York Giants. Now running back Brandon Jacobs essentially has no job, and he’s on the outside looking in — more than ever.

Jacobs published a series of posts on Instagram and Twitter where he didn’t hold back his frustrations as a member of the San Francisco 49ers. The running back has found himself no better than third on the depth chart behind Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter, and it was obviously eating him up.

Twitter is a freely available forum for those with access to it, and who have something to get off their chest. So Jacobs tweeted his irritation over getting a total of five carries for seven yards in two games this season; he also reacted to fans who knocked him for airing his criticisms in public.

After posting images of himself on Instagram in Super Bowl celebrations with the Giants last year, a fan wanted Jacobs to post pictures showing him with San Francisco. His response: “I am on this team rotting away so why would I wanna put any pics up of anything that say niners”

He also tweeted: “Never work in a place where you hate your boss so much, you should always be happy at work. #YouLiveAndYouLearn”

Now the club has suspended Jacobs for the final three games of the regular season. There’s no indication of whether the ban will carry through to the playoffs, but presumably the club could have released him from the team for his insubordination — they have not done so, at least not to this point. Of course, releasing him may result in Jacobs signing with a team the Niners could end up facing down the road.

Frankly, it would be foolish of the club to cut loose a player of Jacobs’ pedigree and skill because of a few indiscreet tweets: Gore often gets injured, and any coach would want to have Jacobs around should he be needed. Jacobs has been in the league for eight years: if he considers himself a professional, he has to be able to shake off his perception of being disrespected no matter how competitive he regards himself to be.

Apparently, though, he’s not taking this lying down: according to a report in USA Today, Jacobs has filed a grievance to be reinstated or be granted his release from the team. Also, he’s stated there’s only one team he wants to play for: the Giants. Is it too late for both sides to work out their differences here? It sure looks like it.