The NFL is currently in its dead period of the calendar, but the main storyline in the league right now is arguably the running back position. Plenty of heavy-hitter names are available on the open market from Dalvin Cook to Kareem Hunt to Ezekiel Elliott. Then you have developing situations with a couple of backs in the thick of contract disputes in Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs, who both had the franchise tag placed on them this offseason. While Barkley and the Giants appear to be having healthy discussions, things are much quieter with Jacobs and the Raiders.
Jacobs did not take part in Las Vegas' offseason program and did not report to minicamp. If a contract extension isn't reached in time for camp, NFL Media's Tom Pelissero told the Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday that there is a possibility that Jacobs' holdout could stretch through training camp and even into Week 1.
"The one [running back situation] that nobody's talking about is Josh Jacobs," Pelissero told Eisen. "At this point, if there's not a long-term deal, I don't anticipate Josh Jacobs being there at the start of training camp and I don't know that he shows up Week 1."
Because Jacobs has not signed his franchise tag yet, he cannot be fined for missing the mandatory portions of the offseason because he is technically not under contract. He and the Raiders have until July 17 to negotiate a long-term extension or Jacobs will be forced to play the 2023 season on the tag, which would pay him $10.1 million fully guaranteed.
If these two sides go beyond that deadline and no deal is struck, it will be worth wondering just how deep Jacobs will dig his feet in. Earlier this offseason, the All-Pro back had an ominous tweet that said, "Sometimes it's not about you. We gotta do it for the ones after us." That was taken as Jacobs possibly trying to set a precedent for future running backs in his same position. Ten days after that post, Jacobs again took to social media and tweeted "Bad business" on June 20, possibly indicating that things are not going smoothly at the negotiating table with the Raiders front office.
Jacobs is coming off a sensational 2022 season where he led the league in rushing. The former first-round pick out of Alabama also set career highs as a pass-catcher, totaling 400 yards through the air to give him 2,053 yards from scrimmage for the season.
