Quicker than Josh Jacobs can cut back and make a man miss, the deadline for him to sign his franchise tag will be here. That deadline is July 17. What it means is that’s the deadline for Jacobs to be signed to a long-term deal prior to this season. If no deal is reached by then, he’ll need to play out the year on the tag – or sit out the season.
Former NFL agent-turned-analyst for CBS Sports, Joel Corry, sees a real possibility that Jacobs could not sign the tag and be a training camp holdout.
It wouldn’t be a surprise for Jacobs to miss the start of Raiders training camp on July 25 if he doesn’t get a long-term deal by the deadline. Jacobs has yet to sign his franchise tender. Some unsigned franchise players have missed part or most of training camp and the preseason partially to protest not getting a long-term deal and to try to minimize the risk of a serious injury.
Under normal circumstances, a player would be fined $50,000 for every day of camp he misses. But should Jacobs not sign his franchise tender, he wouldn’t be under contract and thus would not be fined.
Then, Jacobs could sign his franchise tender just prior to the start of the season and wait until next offseason to get his long-term deal.
Worst-case scenario, he forces his way out of Las Vegas.
Obviously, the ideal situation would be for Jacobs to be signed long-term. There are 11 days left for him and the Raiders to try and work out such a deal, should both sides agree to the terms.
What those terms might be could be dependent upon whether the other two tagged running backs — Saquon Barkley and Tony Pollard — receive long-term deals.
