The Raiders and right guard Gabe Jackson have agreed to a five-year, $56MM extension, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The deal includes $26MM in guarantees, tweets ESPN’s Josina Anderson, and will keep Jackson with the Raiders through 2022.
Oakland had been prioritizing a Jackson extension since early in the offseason, so it’s no surprise that the two sides have agreed to a contract. Jackson’s now the second core member of the Raiders to accept a long-term deal this month, following quarterback Derek Carr, who landed a five-year, $125MM accord last week.
With the 25-year-old Jackson and Kelechi Osemele under wraps, the Raiders now have two of the NFL’s highest-paid guards. Osemele actually edges out Jackson in total value, having inked a five-year, $58.5MM contract as a free agent in 2016, but his deal includes less in guarantees ($25.4MM). Among guards, Jackson only ranks behind the Bengals’ Kevin Zeitler (five years, $60MM) and Osemele in value, and he’s second to Zeitler’s $31.5MM in guarantees.
Since entering the league as a third-round pick in 2014, Jackson has started in 44 of 45 regular-season appearances. The former Mississippi State standout has back-to-back 16-game seasons under his belt, and he’s coming off a year in which he ranked as Pro Football Focus’ 22nd-best guard (72 qualifiers). Led by their two guards, left tackle Donald Penn and center Rodney Hudson, the Raiders had the fourth-best offensive line in the league last year, according to PFF. All four of those players, not to mention primary right tackle Austin Howard, are returning this season, meaning the Raiders should once again have an elite quintet of blockers to make life easier for Carr and their skill players.