The second-most publicized of the negotiations between running backs and the teams who franchise-tagged them, the Josh Jacobs-Raiders talks do trail the Giants and Saquon Barkley for volume. But more is emerging in these Las Vegas-based discussions.
Although this is likely to come down to the wire, the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore notes a significant gap is believed to exist between Jacobs and the Raiders. The sides have not broken off talks, but less than three days remain until the deadline for tagged players to be extended. If the Raiders and Jacobs cannot agree on terms by 3pm CT Monday, he will be tied to the $10.1MM tag number this season.
If Jacobs does not sign by Monday, he is almost certain to miss training camp. Jacobs’ camp has relayed this, Paloma Villicana of FOX 5 News in Las Vegas tweets, with Bonsignore and Yahoo.com’s Charles Robinson confirming the fifth-year running back is prepared to skip camp if he remains on the tag after Monday’s deadline. With teams unable to fine players who have not signed their franchise tenders, Jacobs is not subject to the five-figure-per-day fines mandatory for contracted players who miss camp days. Jacobs, Barkley and Jaguars tight end Evan Engram have not signed their tenders; Tony Pollard signed his Cowboys tag in March.
A guarantee gap — one that may not be especially wide — stands between the Giants and Barkley coming to terms, but more hurdles may be present on Jacobs’ path to an extension. Authorizing a big-ticket running back contract is incongruent with the way Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler are planning to build the Raiders’ roster, Robinson adds. This is in step with The Patriot Way, which has seldom rewarded backs.
New England did extend trade acquisition Corey Dillon in 2005, but running back value began to shift in the years following that agreement. The Patriots later passed on re-ups for Laurence Maroney, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Stevan Ridley or Damien Harris. LeGarrette Blount‘s second Pats deal did not eclipse $2MM per year. After extending Dion Lewis on a low-level accord, the Patriots let the Titans pay him in 2018. Seeing as McDaniels and Ziegler are the latest ex-Patriot bastions given the keys to a franchise, how the Pats proceeded is relevant regarding the Raiders-Jacobs talks.
The Raiders traded away their top-market tight end contract, growing concerned about Darren Waller‘s injuries and shipping him to the Giants, but still have three eight-figure-per-year wide receiver deals on the books. The team added ex-McDaniels Patriots charge Jakobi Meyers on a three-year, $33MM accord ($16MM guaranteed) to go with Davante Adams‘ $28MM-per-year pact and Hunter Renfrow‘s two-year, $32MM extension. Rumblings about Renfrow going into his last year with the Raiders have surfaced, but the veteran slot receiver remains tied to an upper-middle-class receiver contract.
The team is carrying Jacobs’ $10.1MM franchise tag number along with these wideout contracts, and while that cap hit would drop with an extension, it does not seem like too much urgency exists on the Raiders’ part. Unlike Barkley’s negotiations, no terms have come out to indicate where the Raiders are with Jacobs. The reigning rushing champion, however, has not sounded particularly pleased with how the talks have unfolded.
A Jacobs trade should not be considered out of the question, Bonsignore adds, but the bleak Austin Ekeler and Dalvin Cook markets make such a move an unlikely scenario. And tag-and-trade scenarios after the July deadline lead to rental agreements, since Jacobs would be unable to sign a long-term deal with anyone until 2024. McDaniels also may face some pressure in Year 2, considering his 6-11 debut. Jacobs staying healthy — after logging a league-high 393 touches — will be key for the second-year Las Vegas HC. But the team does not appear ready to pay up to keep Jacobs around past 2023. The former first-rounder staying in Vegas beyond this season may be contingent on him making a major compromise.
Barkley has collected nearly $40MM during his five-year career; Jacobs has accumulated just more than $11MM in four seasons. Neither player is a realistic candidate to follow in Le’Veon Bell‘s 2018 footsteps, and Jacobs — despite a rumor that suggested Week 1 is up in the air if no deal is reached by Monday — should be considered less likely than Barkley to pass on game checks. But if no deal happens over the next 70 hours, the Raiders should not expect to see their starting running back for a while.
He won the Rushing Title last year, but cannot get a deal. Jimmy G is not going to be the difference maker on this team, Josh Jacobs is a difference maker.
And has been the difference maker since he was drafted. Jacobs is the hub of that offense. They treated Carr like garbage, now Jacobs. Way to send a message to your locker room and fan base.
Heart of below .500 teams that score in the middle of the pack league wide every year? He’s a good player but RBs don’t win you anything. How many years did Adrian Peterson lead the league in rushing, and how many titles does Minnesota have as a result?
Jacobs is a good back – last year he was great. But even with him and Davonte Adams blowing up the team only won 6 games. His production did not equate to wins.
The reality is that 10.1 mil is close to what he earned his first 4 years in total. I understand that he wants a longer term deal with more guaranteed money. But I’m not sure that is going to happen.
I also don’t think it would be smart for him to sit out the year. That hasn’t worked well in the past for players especially rb’s.
My guess is that he stays away from camp, let the other RB’s establish who will be 2nd and 3rd string and show up for week 1 prep having signed the tender.
My guess is that White and Brown will be the 2 other rb’s on the team plus FB J Johnson and then during the season Jacobs touches will be less than what they were in 22. Walton and McCormick will be on the PS. I don’t think Brown would last on the PS and if he shows the potential he showed in the preseason last year he’ll make the roster. Bolden will be a cap casualty.
These are just my thoughts and are totally worthless. We’ll see what happens….
He can’t win games single handedly. Wasn’t his fault the defense blew leads late in the game. Best case scenario is for LV to rescind the tag and let him go. This is a wasted season for Jacobs at this point since LV won’t be any good.
The offense scored 23 ppg. They weren’t winning any games any more than that defense was blowing leads. Four-minute offense, sustaining drives, scoring when you’re already up, etc. are all part of winning games as much as playing late-game defense, and last time I checked, their offense had all of the money sunk into that side of the ball, not the defense….$40 mil a year QB, highest paid receiving corps in football with Waller getting his extension before last year, and a highly paid left tackle. So stop scapegoating the defense.
They made NFL history last year with the most leads blown after halftime. That’s primarily on the defense and coaching staff, especially the blown lead against the Rams. So yeah, they deserve to get scapegoated.
Again, your offense putting up goose eggs, barely moving the ball, and going three and out every drive in second halves is part of that equation, not just the defense getting gashed. Stop regurgitating what talking heads tell you. The Raider defense has stunk fur almost 20 years straight, so I’m guessing you should have gone in with expectations that barely spending any money on it or draft capital going into last year with a new coordinator wasn’t going to make it the heart of the team. The offense got all of the money, so they should have been closing games. Think of offensively driven teams. A lot of that was on the former QB too because he was atrocious in second halves of games last year. When you score 23 ppg with the payroll they had on offense, you don’t have any room to point at anybody.
Oh, and that Ram game was a joke. It was one of those NFL story specials. They wanted Baker Mayfield to be the hero that day just like they wanted Tom Brady to be the hero ironically a couple of weeks earlier against the Rams. How many blatant holding calls were not flagged on that last drive when linemen were outright tackling Maxx Crosby and other Raider defensive linemen was laughable. All that being said though, the Raiders lost that game because their offense stunk in the second half. I think they had like 50 yards or something after halftime against a Ram team that everybody in the league was working over every week. They had quit by that time in the season, but the Raiders couldn’t put them away, which falls on their mediocre former QB, their horrible HC, and yes, the defense. But let’s not just scapegoat one entity.
Don’t give a dime more than necessary!
They wanted to move on before last year too and now are stuck in an awkward staring contest.
The Raiders should give Jacobs the deal he seeks, as with Garappolo injured they are going to need someone to carry this offense – as Brian Hoyer and Aiden O’Connell won’t be doing it.
I suspect they don’t care. The stadium sells out every game and they have the highest ticket prices in the NFL. It’s only been a year, but McDaniels is showing nothing positive with this team. He’s only shown they will force the ball to Adams every pass play, jettison talent, and lose games when having a lead.
Jacobs is in a different position than Barkley. The Raiders aren’t trying to win, so they can afford to let him sit. He better sign that tag and get that 10 million in the bank, because he hasn’t made the kind of life changing money Barkley has so far. Barkley has made 40m already and the Giants need him. He has some leverage on them if he chooses to use it.
He’s more in line with Cory Dillon’s talent level than all of those other run-of-the-mill backs from the Patriots, but at the same time, I wouldn’t pay an RB in today’s versiion of the league. Tag him for two years and let him walk if he won’t take a reasonable three or four-year deal with reasonable guarantees.