Getty Las Vegas Raiders RB Brandon Bolden.
With Josh Jacobs not having signed his franchise tag tender yet, the Las Vegas Raiders running back room could be a group to watch. If Jacobs holds out or forces the team to move on, the starting running back job would be up for the taking. Despite Jacobs handling 340 of the team’s 428 rushing attempts, they decided to keep five running backs on the active roster for all of last season.
Jacobs, Ameer Abdullah, Zamir White, Brittain Brown and Brandon Bolden were with the team last year and are still in Las Vegas. However, it will be difficult for the Raiders to justify keeping five running backs again if Jacobs does end up staying put. In their June 20 roster predictions, Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed of The Athletic predict that Bolden ends up being the odd man out.
“The Raiders kept five running backs last year, but it proved to be a pretty unnecessary luxury as Jacobs took the lion’s share of the snaps and touches,” Tafur and Reed wrote. “Because he likely isn’t going anywhere even though he hasn’t signed his franchise tag, that’s a mistake they probably won’t make again. [Zamir] White and [Brittain] Brown are more confident now that they have another year under their belt and, while Bolden is a favorite among the coaching staff and locker room, it’s hard to justify giving him a roster spot.”
Brandon Bolden Didn’t Make Big Impact Last Season
Brandon Bolden joined the Raiders offseason on a two-year contract. He has spent nine of his 10 seasons under Josh McDaniels. Eight of those came across two stints when McDaniels was the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots. He has a deep understanding of the offense but didn’t have much of a role last season.
According to Sports Reference, Bolden played just 82 offensive snaps, which accounted for 8% of the team’s offensive snaps. He was much more involved on special teams where he played in 60% of those snaps. Bolden was previously a focal point of McDaniels’ offenses in New England and had 41 receptions in 2021. However, Ameer Abdullah appears to have won over the coaching staff as he played in 16% of the Raiders’ offensive snaps last season and he’s under contract for 2023. The two veteran running backs serve similar roles so one of them is likely to get cut. Based on the snap count disparity from last season, Bolden is the most likely to be released.
Ameer Abdullah Talks Role on Offense
Ameer Abdullah was brought in by the Raiders last offseason and he quickly gain favor with the coaching staff. His ability in the passing game cemented him as the team’s third-down running back last year. If Josh Jacobs is back this season, he’ll be on the field at running back the majority of the time for the offense, but it remains important to have a capable third-down running back in Josh McDaniels’ offense.
Abdullah doesn’t take offense to getting the majority of his snaps on third down as he believes it’s a very important role to have in the NFL.
“I mean third down is important in this league, and whatever I’m asked to do, I’m going to try to do my best at it whether it’s third down, first down, no matter what,” Abdullah said during his June 9 media availability, via Sports Illustrated. “But yes, third downs are very important in this league.”