Josh Jacobs went from seeing the Raiders decline his fifth-year option to winning the rushing title. No Raider had previously secured that crown since Marcus Allen in 1985. Following the accomplishment, Jacobs said he would like to stay in Las Vegas.
The former first-round pick, naturally, indicated he will not come cheap. That should be expected after a 1,653-yard rushing season, but the Alabama alum would prefer his second contract come from the Raiders.
“For me, it’s got to make sense,” Jacobs said (via ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez) on the financial component of a new deal. “But this is obviously where I want to be. Coming in, I remember sitting down with Maxx [Crosby] and all these guys and talking about the Raiders organization and the culture and wanting to be part of the change. I still feel that way so, hopefully, I’ll be back.”
Also amassing a career-high 400 receiving yards, Jacobs paced the NFL in yards from scrimmage (2,053) as well. The former No. 24 overall pick also stayed healthy throughout his contract year, setting him up for a payday. Jacobs is still just 24. Although Jacobs handled an NFL-high 393 touches this season, he can factor in his age and a light college workload (251 handoffs) as selling points for prospective longevity. But free agency should not be expected to be in the cards.
The running back franchise tag is expected to come in just north of $10MM — likely a palatable price for teams with top-shelf backs on the cusp of hitting the market. Jacobs and Saquon Barkley represent prime tag candidates, giving their respective teams time to work out extensions ahead of the July 15 deadline. But the Raiders, despite passing on Jacobs’ fifth-year option, want to keep their running back find on a second contract.
“Obviously J.J.’s performance was a huge bright spot for us,” Josh McDaniels said. “I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for him as a person and as a player and he kind of embodies all the things that we want a Raider to be. Dave [Ziegler] and I have talked about that; J.J. and I have had private conversations about those kinds of things. I think all that will play out in due time. But love him and would love to have him continue to be a Raider.”
Jacobs finished with six 100-yard rushing games — including a 229-yard outing in Seattle in which he totaled 303 scrimmage yards to rank in the top 10 all time for a single game — in his fourth NFL season. Although Derek Carr looks to be on the move, the Raiders would prefer to pair Jacobs and Davante Adams with their next quarterback. It will be interesting to see if Jacobs pushes for a top-market deal — the $15MM range — or settles for the roughly $12MM-AAV pact five other backs have since 2020. With the cap expected to rise from $208MM toward the $225MM mark, it should be expected Jacobs pushes for the market’s top stratum.
Why? This team doesn’t seem to be anywhere close to making the playoffs, much less competing.
Playoff teams don’t give top of the market free agent contracts to running backs.
This team has the weapons to be very scary with a good draft and some key signings. The offense is potent should a competent QB be inserted.
The defense needs a lot of work, but it’s not at ground zero. The biggest problem the Raiders face is that they are in the AFC West. The Chiefs and Chargers are already very good, without a forecast of that changing anytime soon.
So just a new QB, two new offensive linemen, and half a defense. Easy!
Josh Jacobs gambled on himself and won. He played everything cool, said all of the right things, and now holds all of the cards. He is an unrestricted free agent, won the rushing title, and is sitting in a crowded backfield. He will hit the market and get a massive payday.
Josh McDanield’s as a head coach. Lather, rinse, repeat with the same idiot mistakes on and off the field.
…unless they tag him.
Apparently you don’t understand the franchise tag process, the Raider were better of not exercising the 5th year as we Jacobs.
I hope they keep Josh Jacobs because he gambled on himself and possibly made it a difficult decision for the Raiders higher ups please keep him keep the nucleus of Jacobs, Waller, and Adams together just get a more consistent quarterback