HEADLINES

Josh Jacobs

Injury Updates: Raiders, Gilmore, Williams

January 20th, 2024 at 2:29pm CST by Ely Allen

Maxx Crosby, who was already a two-time Pro Bowler and a second-team All-Pro selection within his first four years as a pass rusher for the Raiders, surprised nobody by putting up another career year in 2023. What’s even more impressive about this year’s Pro Bowl season and second-team All-Pro selection is that Crosby accomplished both feats while dealing with a knee injury for most of the season, per Grant Gordon of NFL.com.

This week, Crosby posted a picture of himself following a successful procedure on his left knee. The procedure was reportedly meant clean up an issue with his bursa that Crosby had been dealing with since Week 2 of the 2023 season. That’s not all. The 26-year-old also said recently that he will require thumb surgery. All of this information makes career-highs in tackles (90), sacks (14.5), and tackles for a loss (a league-leading 23) this season all the more impressive.

Elsewhere in Vegas, running back Josh Jacobs saw his own injury information made public earlier this month. After leading the league in rushing yards in 2022, Jacobs’ disappointing 2023 campaign came to an unceremonious end four weeks early, as the 25-year-old missed the final four games of the season with injury.

According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Jacobs had “been dealing with two deep bone contusions that…restricted his range of motion, preventing him from being cleared by the team medical staff.” Pelissero relays that the issues did not result in any structural damage and that Jacobs should be fully healthy heading into free agency this offseason.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL, starting with an update out of northeast Texas:

  • Before Super Wild Card weekend, Cowboys veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore found out that he had suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder. An injury like that is certainly grounds for season-ending surgery that late in the season. Gilmore, though, made the conscious decision to delay surgery, toughing it out for what he hoped would be the second Super Bowl run of his career, per Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News. Gilmore wore a shoulder harness and played 100 percent of the defensive snaps for Dallas in their loss to the Packers. He would’ve done that three more times, if given the opportunity. With the Cowboys’ season now officially ended, Gilmore said that he expected surgery soon, giving him plenty of time to be ready to play in 2024, wherever that may be for the pending free agent.
  • Lastly, the Rams saw rookie sensation Kyren Williams suffer a hand injury in last weekend’s loss to the Lions. The running back out of Notre Dame finished the regular season behind only Christian McCaffrey and Derrick Henry in rushing yards but was forced to exit his team’s playoff game with a broken bone in his hand, according to Rams senior staff writer Stu Jackson. Williams underwent successful surgery on Tuesday of this week and should have plenty of time to recover for his sophomore campaign.

NFL Injury Updates: Jacobs, Miller, Vikings, Sutton

December 25th, 2023 at 11:52am CST by Ely Allen

To start with, let’s address one of the remaining games of this week. It appears that the Chiefs’ route to an eighth consecutive AFC West title will be a bit easier today as the Raiders will be playing without leading running back Josh Jacobs, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. After starting the first 13 games of the season with Las Vegas, Jacobs is now set to miss a second straight game.

Jacobs was held out of last week’s contest after suffering a quad injury in the previous week. He hadn’t been able to practice during a short week and the team had decided it better to act out of an abundance of caution so as to not risk further damage. The Raiders had been holding out hope that Jacobs would be able to find his way back to the field this week, but an illness combined with the healing quad to ensure that Jacobs would not be able to make an appearance in Week 16. If his absence last week, backup Zamir White earned his first career start, rushing for 69 yards and a touchdown in place of Jacobs.

After a promising start to his career, the last few years have been a bit inconsistent for Jacobs. He followed up two seasons in which he rushed for a combined 2,215 yards and 19 touchdowns with only an 872-yard campaign, though he was still breaching the endzone often with nine touchdowns. After a down year that led to the Raiders choosing not to pick up his fifth-year option, Jacobs exploding into a rushing title with 1,653 yards and 12 touchdowns. This year, Jacobs is at 805 rushing yards on a career-worst 3.5 yards per attempt and six touchdowns.

Jacobs had avoided playing out this season on the franchise tag, after coming to a one-year agreement with the Raiders, but a long-term deal remained elusive. Missing time due to injury at the tail end of disappointing season is unfortunately not going to help matters much when Jacobs enters the offseason at the end of the year.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL:

  • In addition to Jacobs, while Las Vegas will reportedly have left tackle Kolton Miller return today as an active player, it appears that he may only be available as an emergency option on the offensive line, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Miller has missed four of the team’s last five contests. In his absence the Raiders have experimented with moving usual starting right tackle Thayer Munford to the left side while having backup lineman Jermaine Eluemunor start on the opposite side of wherever they line up Munford. That trend should continue into Week 16.
  • We already reported on the situation with Vikings pass rusher D.J. Wonnum, but the team lost three other significant contributors to injury during yesterday’s game. Budding tight end T.J. Hockenson, rookie first-round wide receiver Jordan Addison, and cornerback Mekhi Blackmon were all forced out of Sunday’s game early. Fowler of ESPN reported this morning that the outlook for Hockenson is “not good.” While Minnesota is still holding out hope that his MRI will tell a different story, the team is bracing for bad news on the subject. As for Addison, an ankle sprain is projected to have him on a week-to-week status, and the Vikings will hope to glean a bit more information after further testing today, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
  • Lastly, the Broncos played much of yesterday’s loss to the Patriots without their leading receiver after Courtland Sutton left the game with a concussion, according to Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post. Sutton has struggled over the years to find the yardage success he had in 2019 but has rediscovered his redzone proficiency in 2023. The big-bodied receiver leads the team in receptions (58), receiving yards (770), and receiving touchdowns (10) this season. Sutton will have to pass through concussion protocol to return next week in time to help his team in what has become a bit more difficult race for a Wild Card spot.

Raiders Notes: Gruden, Brady, O’Connell

December 14th, 2023 at 12:41pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Raiders are one of two teams (the Panthers being the other) which are guaranteed to be involved in a full-scale coaching search this offseason. With Josh McDaniels having been let go midway through his second season at the helm, a number of candidates will no doubt receive consideration in the coming weeks.

One of those could be a familiar face. Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports Jon Gruden could be brought back in a move which would have signficant legal ramifications. Gruden resigned in the wake of leaded emails emerging in 2021, prompting him to file a lawsuit against the NFL. That action is aimed at uncovering the identity of the person responsible for the leaks, and Gruden intends to continue with the suit.

As Bonsignore notes, however, the NFL may be on board with “avoid[ing] a potential public-relations nightmare by simply letting Gruden be re-hired” by the Raiders. The 60-year-old was in the midst of Year 4 of his second tenure with the organization when he resigned. He has not been on the coaching radar since, fueling the argument made in his lawsuit. Dropping the suit in exchange for being brought back would mark an unexpected end to this situation, though Bonsignore adds it is unknown if owner Mark Davis would be interested in such a move.

Here are some other notes out of Sin City:

  • Tom Brady‘s bid to become a minority Raiders owner has still not been approved. The agreement which would see the seven-time Super Bowl winner take on a stake in the franchise (which could also include having a say in the hiring process for the replacements of McDaniels and ex-GM Dave Ziegler) was not discussed during yesterday’s owners meeting, per Mark Maske of the Washington Post. However, there remains optimism that ratification will be attained in the future as Brady prepares for a transition to the broadcast booth.
  • The Raiders lost to the Vikings in Week 14 despite only allowing three points. The team’s lackluster offensive showing led to questions about Vegas’ quarterback situation, but no changes under center are expected. Rookie Aidan O’Connell is expected to get the start in tonight’s game against the Chargers, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Veterans Jimmy Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer are on the roster, but both face very uncertain futures compared to O’Connell. The latter has been in place as the starter since McDaniels was let go, so it comes as little surprise Vegas will elect to keep him atop the depth chart.
  • While O’Connell will likely be in place for tonight’s battle of the backups, the Raiders may not have their top rushing option available. Josh Jacobs has not practiced during this short week, and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports his status is very much in doubt (video link). If last year’s rushing champion is at risk of worsening the quad injury he suffered on Sunday, he will not suit up, Rapoport adds. Jacobs was one of three franchise tag recipients at the RB position this offseason, and no long-term deal was worked out. He has remained a key member of the team’s offense in 2023, logging double-digit carries all but once in 13 games. Jacobs has seen his yards per carry mark drop compared to last season (from 4.9 to 3.5) but he leads the team in rushing by 742 yards, meaning his absence would deal a major blow to the Raiders’ attempt at an offensive rebound.

Latest On Raiders, Josh Jacobs

September 1st, 2023 at 3:52pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Raiders ensured they will have Josh Jacobs in place for the start of the season by agreeing to a new deal with the franchise-tagged running back. Further details have emerged regarding the negotiating process on the pact, as well as the team’s willingness to extend their relationship with last year’s rushing champion.

After talks on a multi-year deal failed to produce an agreement, Jacobs was faced with the decision of playing on the $10.1MM tag in 2023 or forgoing $561K in weekly game checks by sitting out. Both scenarios were avoided on the weekend when a revised one-year deal was agreed to. Jacobs will now earn up to $12MM this season, and any potential 2024 franchise tag will carry an increased value as a result.

Playing on consecutive tags would result in nearly $26MM in earnings for Jacobs. Conflicting reports emerged in July with respect to how close the parties came to an agreement on a long-term deal, one which would have needed to meet or exceed the $22MM mark to outweigh the baseline value of two straight tags as they were initially priced. A deal worth $12MM per season but with an unknown guaranteed figure was reportedly made and turned down.

On the point of pre-deadline negotiations, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports that Vegas did not make any fully-guaranteed offers in the vicinity of either the $26MM or $22MM mark across the next two years. As a result, plenty will depend on Jacobs’ performance in 2023 and his ability to convince the franchise – now run by GM Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels, a regime other than the one which drafted him – to make a multi-year commitment to him.

When detailing the talks which produced Jacobs’ revised one-year arrangement, Ziegler noted that a face-to-face meeting with the two-time Pro Bowler and his agent last week sealed the deal. That put an end to speculation about the parties’ shared future (for one more season, at least), but Ziegler maintains that a contract keeping Jacobs in Vegas beyond 2023 is still in the cards.

When asked about continuing to work on a long-term agreement, Ziegler said, via Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “If it works out that way, and obviously there’s a lot of moving parts, but it’s something that we’ll definitely consider and have interest in doing.”

Given the failure of contract talks to produce a deal, questions have been raised about the relationship between Jacobs and the team. On that point, the 25-year-old said that no ill will exists on either side now that a short-term agreement has been reached. With the contract drama at least temporarily behind them, Jacobs and the Raiders will be able to move forward in the hopes of replicating their success in the ground game from last season.

“We made it happen, so it ain’t no hard feelings now,” he said, via ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez. ” It’s a clean slate with me. It was never… no hate on each side. I understood it, but at the same time I understood my value, too. So it was just about meeting in the middle.”

Raiders, Josh Jacobs Agree To One-Year Deal

August 26th, 2023 at 11:37pm CST by Ben Levine

There’s no longer any doubt surrounding Josh Jacobs‘ availability for Week 1. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports (via Twitter) that the Raiders running back has agreed to a revised contract with the organization. Jacobs has since confirmed the news on Twitter.

Per Pelissero, Jacobs signed an “upgraded” one-year pact worth up to $12MM. Jacobs was previously attached to the $10.091MM franchise tag, but he’ll now earn a base salary of $11.8MM next season, according to Pelissero. The RB can earn another $200K via incentives, leading to the $12MM number.

The revised deal will also have some future implications on Jacobs and the Raiders. Pelissero tweets that Jacobs’ new deal could help boost a potential 2024 franchise tag value to north of $14MM.

After Jacobs no-showed training camp and the preseason, there were some questions if he would extend his holdout into the regular season. However, it sounds like both sides made significant progress this week to get the star RB back on the field. According to Pelissero, the player and agent Chad Wiestling flew to Las Vegas this week to meet with Raiders officials. The reporter adds that Jacobs will be at the team facility on Sunday to officially sign the contract.

Jacobs lost some leverage when he failed to sign a long-term contract with the organization by the July 17 deadline. However, the player sounded sincere when he threatened to sit out the 2023 campaign due to dissatisfaction with not only his contract, but the RB market in general. Since Jacobs didn’t ink his franchise tag, he wasn’t subject to fines from the organization for his absence.

After the sides failed to agree to a new deal, there were whispers that the Raiders and Jacobs made considerable progress in the hours leading up to the deadline, and that framework may have been important in this revised deal. Later reports indicated that the Raiders offered Jacobs a deal worth $12MM a season, a value that was ultimately reflected in his reworked one-year pact.

While Jacobs has been absent from Raiders camp up to this point, there seemed to be some optimism regarding Jacobs availability for the start of the regular season. This was especially true when fellow franchise-tagged running back Saquon Barkley signed a revised deal with the Giants, perhaps paving the way for Jacobs to ink a reworked deal in Las Vegas. The Raiders also made it clear throughout the process that they had no intention of trading Jacobs, although that didn’t stop teams like the Chiefs, Broncos, and Dolphins from reaching out.

While the player’s future with the organization is still cloudy, both sides can enter the 2023 campaign knowing that the RB will be leading the backfield. With Derek Carr no longer on the squad, the offense will be counting on Jacobs more than ever. The RB had his best season in 2022, finishing with 2,053 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns en route to a first-team All-Pro nod.

Zamir White seemed like the top candidate to take over the RB1 spot if Jacobs sat out regular season games. With the starter definitively playing next season, the team may be willing to hold fewer running backs than they originally intended. The rest of the team’s depth chart at the position includes pass-catching veteran Ameer Abdullah, special teams ace Brandon Bolden, former Chiefs RB Damien Williams, and young options like Brittain Brown, Sincere McCormick, and Darwin Thompson.

Raiders Not Looking To Trade Josh Jacobs; Dolphins Inquired On RB’s Availability

August 24th, 2023 at 8:50am CST by Sam Robinson

AUGUST 24: The Dolphins briefly inquired on Jacobs’ availability, as first reported by Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, but those talks went nowhere with the Raiders confident he will play in Vegas in 2023. Subsequent reports have confirmed the Dolphins’ passing interest in Jacobs, including NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe. The latter notes that Miami is interested in a high-profile RB trade, “but only up to a certain price” (Twitter link). Talks between the Colts and Dolphins regarding Taylor are ongoing.

AUGUST 23: As the Colts have followed the Chargers’ lead in letting a standout running back find a trade partner, the Raiders continue to wait on their All-Pro back’s return. They are taking a different approach compared to the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor path.

The Raiders are not looking at tag-and-trade scenarios involving Josh Jacobs, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Then again, moving Jacobs’ $10.1MM tag salary would not be an easy task for the Raiders. With less mileage on his odometer, the 2021 rushing champion is also a more appealing trade target than last year’s leader. But it remains to be seen if a team will make an offer for Taylor that will prompt Indianapolis to consider a move. The Colts’ ask is high.

Beginning training camp in late July, the Raiders have been without Jacobs for nearly a month. Jacobs is not obligated to attend camp, having not signed his franchise tender. The team can add sweeteners to entice Jacobs to return on time, as the Giants did — via a high-seven-figure incentive package, albeit featuring escalators classified as not likely to be earned — to bring Saquon Barkley back into the fold. Earlier this month, however, a report suggested the Raiders had not held talks with Jacobs about elevating his 2023 compensation.

Yannick Ngakoue agreed to reduce his tag salary — from $17.8MM to $13MM — to facilitate a trade from Jacksonville to Minnesota in 2020, but envisioning Jacobs making such a concession to leave Las Vegas is highly unlikely. (The Raiders would also need to be motivated to move him, which it appears they are not.) Even as Jacobs’ $10.1MM salary makes him less valuable in a trade, Ngakoue could count on future contracts to balance out the trim he accepted. The developments at running back this year offer Jacobs no such assurances beyond 2023.

Jacobs, 25, totaled an NFL-high 2,053 scrimmage yards last season. The 2019 first-rounder also led the NFL with 393 touches, providing a potential cause for concern regarding his 2023 form. This adds to the reasons why Jacobs skipping regular-season games (and $561K game checks) is considered unlikely. The Alabama alum does not figure to have many more chances at a notable payday, making this $10.1MM salary rather important.

Jacobs reporting just before Week 1 would follow Le’Veon Bell‘s 2017 path. Preserving his body for a free agency push — the nuclear option Bell executed upon being tagged again in 2018 — is extraordinarily unlikely due to the financial sacrifice and the state of the RB market. While Bell had the Jets waiting to pay him in 2019, it cannot be assumed such a payment — on what looks like a crowded 2024 market — would await Jacobs. The Raiders can also merely re-tag their RB1 for barely $12MM in 2024.

With Jacobs not showing up for camp, the Raiders signed Damien Williams. But do not roster anyone particularly close to Jacobs’ level, with 2022 fourth-rounder Zamir White slotted as Vegas’ top backup. The team could rescind Jacobs’ tag, sending him to free agency. But McDaniels may see his seat warm up this season. Having Jacobs at Jimmy Garoppolo‘s disposal would help the second-year Raiders HC’s cause. But the team continues to wait.

RB Josh Jacobs Expected To Report To Raiders By Week 1

August 21st, 2023 at 9:46am CST by Adam La Rose

The Josh Jacobs situation has gone quiet since he began his training camp holdout. A return to the Raiders could be coming soon for the franchise-tagged running back, however.

[RELATED: Chiefs, Broncos Eyeing Jacobs?]

Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Jacobs is expected to report to the team ahead of their regular season opener. Three weeks remain until Week 1, and Bonsignore adds it remains unclear at this point when exactly Jacobs could be back in the fold. He has yet to sign his $10.1MM tag, but failing to take part in regular season action would result in $561K in weekly missed game checks.

Few firm details have emerged regarding how close the Raiders came to working out a multi-year deal with last year’s rushing champion. An offer worth roughly $12MM per year was reportedly made and rejected, leaving Jacobs in the same situation as the other tagged running backs (Tony Pollard and Saquon Barkley) with respect to having an uncertain long-term future.

Pollard signed his tag, however, and Barkley avoided a holdout with a revised one-year deal involving $900K in incentives. Vegas is believed to be open to talks on a similar compromise, but without Jacobs present it is unlikely much dialogue has taken place in that regard. Assuming he does return with some time remaining before Week 1, head coach Josh McDaniels would welcome the opportunity for him to receive at least some training camp reps.

“I think that it’s important for every player,” McDaniels said. “This is the National Football League, so it’s not easy to go out there and just play games and do it at the speed and level that you want to do it at, unless you’ve really kind of had enough opportunity to get yourself ready to do that.”

After leading the league in scrimmage yards in 2022 and operating as the focal point of the Raiders’ offense, Jacobs should be expected to fairly comfortably pick up where he left off if and when he does return. If that does not turn out to be the case, though, a largely inexperienced contingent of depth backs – led by 2022 fourth-rounder Zamir White – would be leaned on in the Raiders’ regular season opener against the Broncos. For now, signs could be pointing to such a scenario not being necessary.

Chiefs, Broncos Interested In Josh Jacobs

August 5th, 2023 at 10:42pm CST by Ben Levine

The Raiders are running out of time to convince Josh Jacobs to report to the team, and rival organizations are already preparing for the possibility that the running back could be a late addition to the free agent pool. According to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, the Chiefs and Broncos are “among the teams interested” in Jacobs if he has his franchise tag rescinded.

[RELATED: Josh Jacobs Hasn’t Reported To Raiders Camp]

As Florio notes, there are five options for the Raiders and Jacobs at the moment. The running back could simply accept his $10.1MM franchise tender, or the two sides could agree to an “enhanced deal” that offers more money (similar to Saquon Barkley and the Giants) or a promise to not tag him next offseason. Jacobs could also decide to sit out games, or the front office could try to find a taker via trade.

The fifth scenario would see the Raiders rescind the franchise tag, which would make Jacobs a free agent. As Florio notes, the player is “aware of the possibility and unconcerned about it.” While the running back would be hard pressed to recoup the $10.1MM on the open market, Jacobs would be fine taking the best deal from a contender.

So, in comes the Chiefs and Broncos. Kansas City would fit the bill of a contender, and they could offer Jacobs a role atop their depth chart. That spot is currently held by 2022 seventh-round pick Isiah Pacheco, who had 960 yards from scrimmage as a rookie before adding another 262 yards in the postseason. The Chiefs are also rostering pass-catching RB Jerick McKinnon and former first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire, but Jacobs obviously brings a stronger resume than any of those three backs.

It’s a stretch to describe the Broncos as a surefire contender, at least heading into the regular season. However, Florio notes that the organization would be a fit “at the right price.” Former second-round pick Javonte Williams is prime to lead the depth chart, but the running back is recovering from a torn ACL, LCL, and posterolateral corner. The Broncos also added Samaje Perine as insurance, but Jacobs would obviously provide a more established alternative to Williams.

Of course, the Chiefs, Broncos, and any other suitor would have to wait on the Raiders to blink and rescind the franchise tag. As Florio notes, this scenario wouldn’t allow Jacobs to maximize his overall value, but it would allow the player to stand on “principle” as running backs continue to navigate their declining market value.

Latest On Raiders, Josh Jacobs

August 3rd, 2023 at 7:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

AUGUST 3: Despite the report indicating Vegas is open to further negotiations, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes that no new dialogue has taken place as of yet. The Barkley situation could still provide a roadmap to a resolution in this case, but the leverage advantage the team has gives them little obligation to actively pursue a deal other than the tag. Plenty of time remains before the regular season, though signs do not point to this situation ending soon.

AUGUST 1: With Saquon Barkley rejoining the Giants earlier than expected — in exchange for a small incentive package — Josh Jacobs stands alone among the franchise-tagged contingent. The Raiders running back has not reported to the Raiders, staying away in protest of the franchise tag.

Barkley was believed to be preparing to skip camp as well, but he changed his mind and now has a high-six-figure incentive set to chase. Would the Raiders be amenable to a similar agreement to bring Jacobs back? The team is open to restarting talks with Jacobs, CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson tweets.

Seeing as the tag deadline came and went without a running back being extended, there is not too much talking left to do. Jacobs is tied to the $10.1MM tag price, though the league’s reigning rushing champion has not signed the tender. The Raiders can rescind it and take their chances with lesser backs. That should not be considered likely. The team can also agree not to tag Jacobs in 2024, but with the Giants not making that concession for Barkley, it is hard to see the Raiders doing so for Jacobs. They still wield the power here, with Jacobs set to miss out on $561K for each regular-season game he misses.

The team can dangle some incentives for Jacobs, who can stay away until Week 1 without being fined. They can also trade him. Teams interested in Jonathan Taylor would stand to be curious about Jacobs, though no extension can be discussed until January 2024. Jacobs, 25, has made a number of cryptic tweets suggesting dissatisfaction with how his negotiations went. The Raiders have been connected to making an offer in the $12MM-per-year range; another report indicated the sides were not close to hammering out an extension.

“I think everybody loves and respects J.J. and understands the process,” Josh McDaniels said, via SI.com’s Gilberto Manzano. “I certainly do. And I’ve said it a million times this year: I love the player and the person, and I understand the process he’s going through. We’re going to work as hard as we can with the guys that are here every day, and ultimately when he’s back, we’re going to look forward to getting him back and integrated into the group.”

Like the Giants, the Raiders are not especially deep at running back. They have 2022 fourth-round pick Zamir White and veteran special-teamers Brandon Bolden and Ameer Abdullah atop their depth chart behind Jacobs. The team also brought in veterans Rex Burkhead and Damien Williams for Tuesday workouts, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

Burkhead’s Las Vegas cameo should not exactly come as a surprise, given the number of ex-Patriots the Raiders have brought in since hiring McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler. Burkhead spent the past two years in Houston, but the veteran played four seasons (2017-20) in New England. McDaniels was the Pats’ OC throughout that period. Williams, whom the Falcons released from their IR list last season, worked out for the Cardinals last week. Burkhead is 33; Williams is 31.

Despite their respective ages, neither has amassed a particularly high number of career touches. Burkhead sits at 680, Williams 490. This has kept the duo’s careers going past age 30, and the Raiders are checking in as they manage a higher-workload back’s hiatus.

Raiders Offered Josh Jacobs $12MM-Per-Year Deal?

July 28th, 2023 at 4:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

Saquon Barkley‘s Giants negotiations brought a run of term updates, with the sides’ back-and-forth leading to a narrowing gap but no extension. Josh Jacobs‘ Raiders talks did not feature numbers ahead of the deadline, but at least one has emerged in the days since.

The Raiders are believed to have offered Jacobs a deal worth $12MM per year, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com said during a Rich Eisen Show appearance (video link). Conflicting reports have circulated regarding how close the Raiders and Jacobs were on a deal, with one indicating this Raiders regime was not especially keen on making a higher-end running back extension part of their roster blueprint. This report suggests the parties appeared to be near the same page.

As Jacobs’ less public negotiations played out, Garafolo adds he and Barkley were in communication during the final hours before the July 17 extension deadline. Barkley had seen the Giants slash their AAV offer as their guarantees climbed to the $22MM level. It is not known where the Raiders were, guarantee-wise, but Garafolo adds Barkley likely would have accepted the offer the Raiders made to Jacobs had the Giants presented those terms to him.

A $12MM-per-year pact would have put Jacobs in the dwindling upper class of RB contracts. That group has absorbed a number of blows this offseason. The Cowboys cut Ezekiel Elliott, and the Vikings moved on from Dalvin Cook. Two other $12MM-per-year backs — Aaron Jones and Joe Mixon — agreed to pay cuts. The only players left with unchanged deals in this salary neighborhood are Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, Derrick Henry and Nick Chubb. With the Giants and Raiders not going into the CMC-Kamara neighborhood, each proposed deals in line with the Henry ($12.5MM per year) and Chubb ($12.2MM AAV) numbers.

The Giants provided a small incentive package for Barkley, preventing a lengthy absence that could have stretched into September. Jacobs, 25, is the only tagged back staying away from his team. The Raiders cannot fine Jacobs, since he has not signed his $10.1MM franchise tender. They can rescind the tag, a scenario that would make the reigning rushing champ a free agent. That should not be considered likely, at this point, but the fifth-year back is staying away as Las Vegas’ camp begins.

Jacobs has made references to standing up for the running back position as a whole, and considering the discussions among NFL backs in recent days, it is interesting he and Barkley were communicating about their respective negotiations. Barkley was best positioned to make a Le’Veon Bell-like stand by withholding services into the regular season, due to his $38MM-plus in career earnings and the Giants not having a No. 1 wide receiver-type presence. Jacobs has earned just more than $11MM during his career. Passing on a $10.1MM payment is not especially realistic, given the diminished earning power this period’s backs possess.

Load More Posts