It’s been an exciting offseason for many Las Vegas Raiders players as the team has added a lot of talent and handed new contracts to Maxx Crosby, Derek Carr and Hunter Renfrow. One player who can’t be too happy with how the offseason has played out is running back Josh Jacobs. The 2019 first-round draft pick had his fifth-year option declined this offseason and the Raiders drafted his possible replacement in Zamir White.
Jacobs is likely in his last year with the team unless he proves to be an irreplaceable asset this season. Las Vegas has finished up OTAs and mandatory minicamps so players have a bit of free time before training camp. Jacobs raised some eyebrows among Raiders fans when he was seen hanging out at MetLife Stadium, which is where the New York Giants and Jets play.
Josh Jacobs is currently at MetLife Stadium. Home of the Jets & Giants 😅🤔
There was some speculation that perhaps Jacobs was traded to one of the New York teams. However, that was not the case. The running back was in New York just to catch a Yankees game.
Yankees player positions in the @NFL
Aaron Judge, _________
Giancarlo Stanton, _________
Aroldis Chapman, ________
Star RB @iAM_JoshJacobs weighs in
Apparently, Jacobs saw some of the noise about his trip to New York and seemingly responded to the speculation.
Sometimes you just gotta let people paint the narrative they choose
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Too Early to Consider Trading Jacobs
It’s a strong possibility that Jacobs doesn’t have a future in Las Vegas past this season but it’s too early for the Raiders to consider moving him. Kenyan Drake is coming off an injury and White suffered two torn ACLs during his time at Georgia. When healthy, Jacobs has proven to be one of the best running backs in the NFL.
While the Raiders are high on White, they need to see more from him before fully committing to him as a starter. Jacobs only has a cap hit of $3.8 million this season, which isn’t bad for a Pro Bowl-level running back. He didn’t have his best season last year but the Raiders wouldn’t have made the playoffs if he didn’t turn things around towards the end of the year. Also, if Las Vegas is considering trading him, they should wait until a team desperate for a running back emerges and is willing to overpay for Jacobs.
Don’t Rule out Jacobs Still Having a Future in LV
General manager Dave Ziegler comes from the New England Patriots, which is a team that is known to not pay running backs. However, Ziegler has already proven to be different than Bill Belichick. Things aren’t looking great for Jacobs right now but that doesn’t necessarily mean this will be his last season with the Raiders.
If Jacobs returns to rookie form, rushes for over 1,000 yards and is a key piece for a playoff run, it’s hard to imagine Las Vegas won’t at least try to keep him. Plus, if White doesn’t look like the answer at running back, that could motivate the Radiers to extend Jacobs. It’s still unlikely considering the team has to pay tight end Darren Waller but Ziegler has proven that he’s willing to spend money to keep talented players.
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Josh Jacobs Appears to Respond to Speculation Over Raiders Future