Differing reports got here out of the Raiders’ effort (or lack thereof) to increase Josh Jacobs on the July 2023 franchise tag deadline. Multiple reports earlier this 12 months indicated the Raiders made Jacobs a suggestion, the previous rushing champion doesn’t paint an image of a notable effort on Las Vegas’ behalf to maintain him.
The Packers gave Jacobs a four-year, $48MM deal, however the contract incorporates only $12.5MM (the running back’s signing bonus) guaranteed. Still, the Raiders’ offer was not believed to have approached where the Packers went for the five-year veteran. Jacobs also said he and latest Raiders GM Tom Telesco didn’t speak before his Wisconsin departure.
“I never talked to the GM or none of that,” Jacobs said during an appearance on the Green Light with Chris Long podcast (via Yardbarker). “It just was what it was. At the top of the day, I told them, ‘Look, I’ve got every Raider record since I’ve been here, principally.’ And I’m like, ‘If y’all don’t have enough respect in me to sit down me down and have a conversation, then we don’t have anything to speak about.’ It’s that straightforward, really.”
Jacobs, 26, is now tied to a fourth front office boss, in Green Bay’s Brian Gutekunst. The Jon Gruden-Mike Mayock regime drafted him in 2019, and the completed RB’s first round of contract negotiations got here with Dave Ziegler in charge. The Raiders may or may not have come near a Jacobs extension last July. A report indicated a $12MM offer — one which compared favorably to the Giants’ 2023 Saquon Barkley proposal — surfaced, while one other indicated the team was not close on terms with its franchise-tagged RB. Regardless, the edges split shortly after Telesco’s hire.
The Raiders’ Telesco move, which got here weeks before Jacobs’ contract officially expired, didn’t result in a robust effort to retain Jacobs. This got here a 12 months after Telesco didn’t show interest in an Austin Ekeler extension, despite the versatile back’s interest in a brand new deal. Though, the Raiders are believed to have considered the previous Telesco Chargers find in free agency this 12 months. Ekeler ended up in Washington on a two-year, $8.43MM deal.
The Raiders didn’t have Jacobs’ services for the season’s final month; the five-year starter finished the season on the shelf as a result of two contusions. Nagging injuries cropped up at several points for Jacobs, though he dominated behind a middling Raiders O-line — en path to becoming the primary Raider rushing champion since Marcus Allen‘s 1985 MVP season — in a 17-game 2022 showing. The Packers are prone to roster Jacobs for no less than two years, with signing bonus prorations surpassing $9MM from 2025-27 and the RB due a $5.93MM bonus on Day 5 of the 2025 league 12 months.
Las Vegas will avoid wasting money at running back, being set to make use of two-year Jacobs backup Zamir White as its starter. Alexander Mattison, who signed a one-year deal price $2MM, is predicted to back up White. Jacobs is replacing Aaron Jones in Green Bay, however the Pack each re-signed AJ Dillon and used a third-round pick on MarShawn Lloyd.
After three 1,000-yard rushing seasons, Jacobs will try to prove himself alongside Jordan Love and Co. within the NFC. He leaves Las Vegas rating third in profession rushing yardage (5,545) and rushing TDs (46) as a Raider. His 1,653-yard 2022 season trails only Allen’s ’85 showing in team annals.
