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There’s only one preseason game left for the Las Vegas Raiders before their September 10 regular season debut against the Denver Broncos. That means there isn’t much more time for running back Josh Jacobs to make a decision on his contract.
The NFL’s leading rusher has been sitting out of training camp as he refuses to sign the franchise tag tender the team placed on him back in March. However, it appears the that the holdout could be coming to an end, per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“Running back Josh Jacobs is expected to report to the Raiders before their season opener in three weeks, multiple league sources have indicated,” Bonsignore wrote in an August 20 report.
Jacobs isn’t technically under contract so he doesn’t lose any money by not being at training, but he will start to lose money once regular season games start getting played. He stands to make $10.1 million guaranteed under the franchise tag, which would make him tied for being the sixth highest-paid running back in the NFL in 2023, per Over the Cap.
Josh Jacobs Needs Practice Time Before Season, per Josh McDaniels
Josh Jacobs hasn’t been with the Raiders since the season ended in January. He’s not allowed to be with the team until he signs the tender. NFL players typically stay in shape during the offseason but it’s not clear what kind of work Jacobs has been doing.
Even if he is staying in shape, head coach Josh McDaniels thinks it’s important for him to get some time on a practice field prior to the season.
“I think that it’s important for every player,” McDaniels said during his August 20 media availability. “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.”
Though Jacobs is an All-Pro player and a team captain, McDaniels believes that every player needs to practice regardless of their experience.
“Whether it be J.J. or somebody else, it’s the same thing,” McDaniels said. “Everybody’s gotta have an opportunity to do that, to get reacclimated to the pace, the speed of things.”
Jacobs rushed for an NFL-high 1,653 yards last season and was a major piece for the Raiders’ offense. However, McDaniels isn’t buying that production will just carry over into 2023 unless he puts in the work.
“Nothing carries over from one year to the next,” McDaniels said. “You have to re-establish your individual level of performance, and collectively as a unit and ultimately as a team, we have to establish and re-establish ourselves in terms of what we’re gonna be about.”
Best @NFLFantasy performance of the season?
303 yards from scrimmage and an 86-yard walk-off TD in OT for @iAM_JoshJacobs 😱
Josh McDaniels Talks Zamir White
While Josh Jacobs has been out, second-year running back Zamir White has been getting the majority of first-team carries. He rushed the ball 10 times for 40 yards in the Raiders’ second preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams. McDaniels has been impressed with what he’s seen from the young running back.
“Zamir has made a lot of progress in every area,” McDaniels said. “He caught the ball last night out of the backfield, he knows who he’s responsible for in protection, he’s chipping and slamming on the edges when he’s responsible to do that to help the tackles.
“He’s took great care of the football and protected it very well, which is a huge thing for us and our team, and runs downhill. He’s physical.”
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