Raiders Facing Holdout From Franchise RB Josh Jacobs?

NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero mentioned during a recent media appearance that the Raiders could see themselves in a holdout situation with star RB Josh Jacobs if the two sides can’t work out a new deal.

“One [situation] that nobody’s talking about is Josh Jacobs,” Pelissero said on The Rich Eisen Show. “At this point, if there’s not a long-term deal I don’t anticipate Jacobs being there at the start of training camp and I don’t know that he shows up Week 1.”

Jacobs was one of three running backs to get the franchise tag this offseason along with Cowboys RB Tony Pollard and Giants RB Saquon Barkley. Pollard has signed his tag but Barkley and Jacobs have not. 

While there have been numerous updates about the state of negotiations between the Giants and Barkley, things have been much quieter between the Raiders and Jacobs. This report seems to indicate that’s not necessarily because they’re less tense. 

The Raiders have until July 17 to negotiate a long-term extension, otherwise Jacobs has to play out the 2023 season on the tag.  

Jacobs did not attend voluntary OTAs this offseason and did not report to minicamp. However, because he has not yet signed the franchise tag, he’s not technically under contract and not liable for fines for missing minicamp, or training camp should he elect to hold out. 

The point at which Jacobs would start losing money is if he missed games in the regular season, losing 1/17th of the $10.1 million tender for each game he sits out. 

Former Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell sat out the entire 2018 season after being tagged for a second straight year at a sum of $14.5 million, none of which he saw. The decision is widely believed to have been a poor one, as Bell didn’t recoup the money on his next contract and was out of the league just a few years later. 

Jacobs, 25, was selected with the No. 24 overall pick by the Raiders out of Alabama in 2019. He later agreed to a four-year, $11,933,394 rookie contract that included a $6,698,832 signing bonus. 

Las Vegas declined Jacobs’ fifth-year options ahead of the 2022 season, which set him up to be an unrestricted free agent in 2023. The team then used the franchise tag on Jacobs worth $10.09 million fully guaranteed for the 2023 season this offseason.

In 2022, Jacobs appeared in all 17 games for the Raiders and rushed for 1,653 yards on 340 carries (4.9 YPC) to go along with 53 receptions for 400 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns.

We will have more news on Jacobs as it becomes available.