Aside from figuring out who will be the quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders next season, the next biggest question surrounding the team is whether the team will be able to come to terms on a new contract with running back Josh Jacobs.
The Raiders chose not to pick up Jacobs’ fifth-year option prior to the season, leading many to wonder if the team wouldn’t trade him. This amounted to a prove-it year for Jacobs and he responded with the best year of his career, leading the league in rushing and being named a First-Team All-Pro for the first time in his career.
And now Jacobs is set to hit free agency and there is always a possibility that he is in another uniform next season. But in an appearance on Good Morning Football, Jacobs made it clear that he wants to remain a Raider for the foreseeable future, via Coral Smith of NFL.com:
“I mean for me, I’ve got the Raiders seal tatted on me. It’s always something that I wanted to be a part of,” Jacobs said Thursday on Good Morning Football. “I want to give back to win and change the culture to get the winning mentality and things like that, I’m fully invested in that.
“I mean I just bought a house in Vegas, it’s definitely a place that I want to be.”
Jacobs was a true workhorse back for the Raiders, leading the NFL with 1,653 rushing yards and 2,053 yards from scrimmage. He also tied his career-high with 12 touchdowns while setting new career bests in yards per carry (4.9), rushing yards per game (97.2), and receiving yards (400).
The fact that the Raiders can use the franchise tag on Jacobs if necessary makes it more likely that he will remain in silver and black, but the fact that Jacobs is so committed to remaining with the Raiders has to give a vote of confidence that the two sides will be able to come to an agreement on a new long-term deal.
There remains the concern about giving big-money contracts to running backs as the position tends to have a short shelf life and many teams have taken the committee approach. But at just 25 years old Jacobs seemingly has many productive years ahead of him and has more than proven his worth to the Raiders after the outstanding season he had.
All signs seem to be pointing to Jacobs and the Raiders being on the same page and finding a way to keep the star back in silver and black.
