Josh Jacobs’ career was seemingly coming to a crossroads in 2022. The Las Vegas Raiders, who had selected him in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, had a new regime in place led by general manager Dave Zeigler and head coach Josh McDaniels.
The New England Patriots duo wanted to start building their own culture and the roster in their image and Josh Jacobs didn’t seem to fit it. They declined the fifth-year option on his contract, which is something that they have grown to regret.
Seemingly motivated by the slight, Josh Jacobs turned in the best season of his career. He ran the ball 340 times for a league-high 1,653 yards, scoring 12 touchdowns. His 393 total touches and 2,053 yards from scrimmage also led the NFL for the 2022 season.
With that performance and a second Pro Bowl nod now on his resume, Josh Jacobs was looking to cash in this offseason as a free agent. But, he never even got to test the open market as the Raiders placed the franchise tag on him earlier this offseason.
The franchise tag for running backs has been a major topic of discussion this offseason as some people believe teams are using it to cap their market. Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants and Tony Pollard of the Dallas Cowboys also received the franchise tag and have not worked out long-term deals with their teams.
Pro Bowler Miles Sanders signed the largest contract for a running back this season and he is being paid just over $6 million annually. Teams have made a concerted effort to not commit big money to running backs and the players are not thrilled about it.
The only power that players such as Josh Jacobs have is to hold out and not play. And, from the sounds of it, that is what he plans to do should no long-term deal be worked out before the deadline at 4 p.m. ET on Monday, July 17th.
According to Paloma Villicana of FOX5 News, Josh Jacobs is feeling great this offseason with no injuries and is feeling explosive. A source close to him also revealed to Villicana that if a deal isn’t reached, Josh Jacobs will not be showing up to training camp and a holdout will ensue.
That is a worst-case scenario for the Raiders as Josh Jacobs is an integral part of their offensive game plan. With question marks surrounding quarterback Jimmy Garopolo, the last thing Las Vegas needs is to worry about the running back position too.
Talks between the two sides reportedly haven’t gotten very far, which will put a lot of pressure on the Raiders to try and get something done before Monday. Zamir White, Ameer Abdullah and Brandon Bolden are the running backs that round out the depth chart currently should Josh Jacobs not report.
