Josh Jacobs signs new deal with Raiders
Star running back Josh Jacobs has signed a 1-year-deal with the Raiders, tying him to Las Vegas through the 2023 season.
Last season’s leading rusher will return to the Silver and Black for another season after he signed a 1-year-deal with the team, worth $12 million.
This brings an end to the former Alabama stars’ holdout, and speculation that Jacobs could sit out the entire NFL season.
Jacobs has been warmly welcomed back to the team by owner Mark Davis, who told ESPN: “I love him. I love Josh.
“He’s phenomenal. He was the heart of our team, in my mind. He came to play every day. Tough, tough, tough guy. Just really proud of him. He was a Raider. If we had 22 Josh Jacobs on the roster, with that mentality, amazing.”
Jacobs has been one of a number of NFL rushers who pledged to holdout for contracts with significant guaranteed money and multiple years.
He had previously refused to sign the contract tender which the Raiders attributed to him – worth $10.1 million.
How did Jacobs get here?
Jacobs was taken with the 24th overall pick by the Raiders in 2019, making his bones as a consistent and reliable playmaker, capable of taking excessive touches and breaking tackles with ease.
However, when Josh McDaniels took over the head coaching role last season, Jacobs had his fifth-year option declined.
He responded in the best possible way that any running back could with a chip on his shoulder – a career year, in which he led the NFL with 1,653 yards while also tallying 12 touchdowns and 393 touches.
He became the first Raider since Marcus Allen in 1985 to attain the rushing leader title.
Earlier in the offseason, he told PFT Live: “If (the Raiders) want me to come back and be the hero, (they’re) going to have to pay me like a hero.”
He added: “I wouldn’t mind if they got the right guys in the building around us. If they got some guys on defence, figured out the quarterback situation, got some guys up front.
“Then I would be like, ‘OK, I really wouldn’t mind coming back on the franchise tag.”
The Raiders have now finished preseason 2-1 with wins over the Niners and Rams, and look set to begin the regular season campaign with a healthy Jimmy Garoppolo.
Jacobs has been absent from both training camp and preseason in their entirety as he sought a longer-term deal. He settles for the single year ‘prove it’ deal.
How Jacobs fits back into the side
Jacobs is a much-needed piece for the Raiders, as they enter the season with two main options at quarterback – first, Jimmy Garoppolo, who has consistently had injury problems and therefore will benefit from the reliability of Jacobs.
The other is Aidan O’Connell, an impressive but raw rookie quarterback who will need all the help he can get.
With Jacobs holding out, the Raiders have made use of former Georgia back Zamir White, and ex-Chief Damien Williams.
In three preseason games, ‘Zeus’ posted 86 yards and a touchdown of 26 carries.
Despite his absence, Jacobs undoubtedly returns to reassume his starting duties.
British born lineman Jermain Eluemunor recently evaluated both players, saying: “Josh is — there’s no one like him — but we’re lucky to have a guy like Zeus [White].
“Josh can run you over or juke you out. Zamir is just going to run head-first and run you over, he doesn’t care.
“It’s cool playing for guys like that because you know if you open up a hole and he gets to the safety, nine times out of 10, he’s going to run him over and score.”
The Running Back Market
While quarterback pay continues to increase exponentially year upon year, running back pay has been tanking for some time. Back in 2016, Le’Veon Bell sat out the entire 2018 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, before settling with the Jets the next season.
This season, it appeared that we would see a repeat, with Jacob’s among the backs unhappy with their deals.
The situation culminated in a zoom meeting held between the NFL’s most elite ball carriers, in which they discussed methods to secure better pay.
Ultimately, this has proved unsuccessful. This offseason, coming off a career-high 1,121 rushing yards season, Pro Bowl running back Aaron Jones took a pay cut to remain with Green Bay.
Meanwhile, Joe Mixon restructured his deal withCincinnati, and New York Jet Dalvin Cook was cut by the Minnesota Vikings, despite having eclipsed 1,100 yards rushing each of the past four seasons.
Saquon Barkley, who found himself in a similar situation to Jacobs, reluctantly agreed to end his own holdout earlier this week. Barkley will play this season under an adjusted franchise tag worth $10.1 million, with close to $1 million in incentives.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins and Colts are reportedly in talks over Jonathan Taylor – another running back displeased with his playing situation.
Marcus Allen – who spent the majority of his 16-year career with the Raiders, winning Super Bowl XVIII and its corresponding MVP – recently spoke at a Raiders alumni reunion, saying: “It’s almost like collusion.
“They’ve decided, as a group, that they’re not going to pay them. So, I can understand what [NFL running backs are] thinking and what they’re feeling. So, hopefully things get resolved – because to me, [Jacobs is] like the heart and soul of the team.”
For Jacobs and other running backs league wide, this deal is far from desirable. Yet for the Raiders organisation, to have their franchise player locked in for what is set to be a trial-and-error season will be a huge relief.
