A critical date is nearing for the Las Vegas Raiders. July 17 is the last day star running back Josh Jacobs can sign a long-term contract with the team or he’ll have to wait until next year to work out a deal.
There’s been speculation that Jacobs could hold out if a deal isn’t reached and as the deadline nears, more information has come to light. FOX5 Las Vegas’ Paloma Villicana recently sat down with Jacobs for an interview on July 12. In a tweet, she revealed that “a source close” to the running back believes that Jacobs will not be “showing up for training camp” if a long-term deal isn’t reached.
#Raiders RB Josh Jacobs tells me he’s “feeling great” this offseason with no injuries, he feels “explosive”.
I’m told by a source close to him that if a deal is not made between the Raiders and Josh Jacobs on Monday at 1PM. Jacobs will not be showing up for training camp.
Veterans don’t report to training camp for the Raiders until July 25 so the team will have time to figure out the situation before practices start if Jacobs does plan to holdout.
Las Vegas Raiders Believe Josh Jacobs Wants to Stay: Insider
Following the end of the 2022 season, Josh Jacobs told reporters at a press conference in January 2023 that he’d like to stay with the Raiders going forward, via The Athletic’s Vic Tafur. It’s unclear if those feelings have changed yet, but he hasn’t indicated that he’d like to get traded. While contract talks appear to be contentious or nonexistent, there isn’t any bad blood between the Raiders and Jacobs, according to a July 11 report from Sports Illustrated’s Hondo Carpenter.
“Dave Ziegler, Josh McDaniels, and Josh Jacobs have no personality issues,” Carpenter wrote. “They generally like and respect each other, and none are clamoring for a divorce. Despite no deal, this is not an area that Raider Nation needs to be fearful of.”
Head coach Josh McDaniels has consistently praised Jacobs. He was a key cog of the offense last season and led the NFL with 1,653 rushing yards. He has also proven to be a leader and was a team captain toward the end of the 2022 season. Losing him would be a major blow and having him holdout could be a headache for the team this offseason.
Marcus Allen Not Happy to See RBs Being ‘Undervalued’
Josh Jacobs isn’t the onhttps://heavy.com/sports/nfl/minnesota-vikings/ly running back struggling to get paid. New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley has also not signed his franchise tag while Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard hasn’t agreed to a long-term deal. That’s not to mention former Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook who was recently released and has yet to get a contract from another team.
Former Raiders running back and Hall of Famer Marcus Allen has a problem with seeing how difficult it is for running backs to get paid these days.
“Unfortunately, there is a prevalent assumption made by all of these teams that these top running backs aren’t worth investing into beyond four years and it’s not true,” Allen told Silver and Black Pride’s Bill Williamson in a July 12 interview.
Allen believes that NFL teams have taken the wrong lessons from the times that signing a running back hasn’t worked out.
“I know there have been some cases where top running backs saw their careers end early, but it’s not all of them,” Allen said. “These team have to look at it individually. It’s not all of them. You have to value these guys and they’re sadly undervalued. It’s a copycat league, so one team follows the other when it comes to valuing running backs. It’s prevalent and I don’t know if it will change, but I’ll be watching and hope it does change … It’s intellectually dishonest.”
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