The Raiders were not able to come to a long-term deal with All-Pro RB Josh Jacobs earlier this week. But how close did they get to actually making a deal? Well, that depends on who you believe.
In a recent article by Vic Tafur of The Athletic, he reported that the Raiders and Jacobs were never really close to signing a long-term deal and that Las Vegas didn’t put in a lot of effort to get one done. Here is a snippet of what he wrote in his latest piece:
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer said that “an effort was really made” by the Raiders to get a deal done, while the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that “the Raiders and Jacobs ended Monday on good terms” and “there was an amicable vibe.” All of which is not true.
Tafur would go on to say that the Raiders and Jacobs never got close to the $12.2M a year that Jacobs was reportedly asking for and that there weren’t a lot of discussions leading up to the deadline.
None of this is surprising news as the Raiders clearly feel comfortable letting Jacobs play on the franchise tag and figuring things out at a later date. There is also a chance that they will just let him walk as a free agent after the 2023 season and roll with someone like Zamir White, who would be entering the third year of his rookie deal.
We will see if the Raiders and Jacobs can work out a deal next offseason. But the two sides are now prohibited to talk until next offseason. Expect there to be a lot of noise and false information spread about a potential deal for the next several months.
