The Las Vegas Raiders are in a predicament with star running back Josh Jacobs. After refusing to negotiate a long-term deal with the All-Pro, it was revealed that Jacobs will not be in attendance for mandatory training and is officially holding out after receiving the franchise tag.
One teammate familiar with Jacobs’ situation is superstar wide receiver Davante Adams. During his time with the Green Bay Packers, Adams was the center of several public contract negotiations and eventually, a trade negotiation. The two sides parted ways after being unable to come to terms on a long-term contract.
Now, seeing a similar thing happen to Jacobs, Adams feels uniquely qualified to discuss the situation with his friend. He recently revealed the conversations he’s been having with Jacobs, where he approached him with the positives and negatives of a holdout situation via the Dan Patrick Show:
“I talked to Josh Jacobs recently, it was maybe about three or four days ago. I just told him to keep his head. This is my 10th year, been through the contract process a total of three times now. It’s easier coming in and then once you’re on the field doing your thing, it makes it more interesting come contract time. I told him I understand where he’s coming from. You have to do what you have to do in order to fulfill your worth and you can’t just do something that your heart isn’t in. So at the end of the day if it doesn’t make sense to you, you have to do what you have to do.”
“I tried to present to him the positives of coming back. He and I are really close so when it comes to the connection, I just tried to remind him of the opportunities we have to potentially do something special together and I also let him know that I’ve played with a great deal of running backs, really good ones, and there’s only a handful that I feel like I could go to literal war with and he’s one of those guys. So when I think about winning a Super Bowl and what it takes to win one, I think about having a guy like him in the backfield by my side. Another dog that’s ready to go to to war and do whatever it takes to get it done. He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve ever been around.”
Adams and Jacobs appear to have a very genuine bond and friendship that allows for complete honesty during a difficult situation. Adams was able to lay out a very details argument both for and against Jacobs returning to the Raiders.
Jacobs is likely going to continue holding out, but it will be an important situation to monitor as training camp and the regular season approach.
Raiders and Jacobs were never close on a deal
Reportedly, things were always heading in this direction when it came to Jacobs and the Raiders. It appears the two sides were never close on a deal, with talks being described as dead in the water almost the entire offseason until the deadline.
Then, when talks did begin, they didn’t get far before Jacobs realized the Raiders were not coming close to the number he was seeking.
