Is it true what has been reported by some historians and scholars that Imam Ahmad was not a jurist, but rather only a hadith scholar?

Imam Ahmad's jurisprudential standing and his scholarly and religious status are elevated, despite some saying that he was a Hadith (definition) scholar, not a jurist. Scholars have addressed this and unanimously affirmed his eminence and jurisprudence, and that his madhhab (definition) is one of the four followed madhhabs. Ibn al-Jawzi indicated that Imam Ahmad would gather the knowledge of the world before his eyes when asked about an issue, and that he was the most حافظ of the Messenger's Hadith and the most knowledgeable of its jurisprudence and meanings. Ibn 'Aqil condemned those who deny his jurisprudence, emphasizing that Imam Ahmad based his choices on Hadith with precision, that his jurisprudence was meticulous, and that his unique jurisprudential insights reached the highest degrees of understanding. Some aspects of his jurisprudential standing remained obscure to some scholars because the center of his madhhab was Baghdad, and it did not spread widely until later.