Report: Raiders franchise tag running back Josh Jacobs

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The Las Vegas Raiders officially franchise tagged running back Josh Jacobs on Monday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The franchise tag for running backs is $10.1 million, the lowest of any position besides special teams.

This decision comes less than a year after new general manager Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniel opted not to pick up the fifth-year option of Jacobs’ rookie contract for $8.03 million. 

Jacobs left them little option after this past season, however. The 25-year-old led the league in a number of stats including total rushing yards (1,653), longest rush (86 yards) and most rushing first downs (93).

He also made Raiders’ history against the Seattle Seahawks, recording a franchise-record 303 all-purpose yards (229 rushing, 74 receiving). 

Despite the events that unfolded last offseason, Jacobs has continually downplayed the snub and insisted that this is his preferred outcome. 

“I felt like everybody else thought it was more serious of a thing that I did,” Jacobs told ESPN during the season. “For me, I’m like ‘OK, that just means I’m going to get paid younger.’ .. I controlled the narrative at that point. Whatever I did, whether it was good or bad, it would be on me. I kind of like that. I kind of liked that pressure a little bit.”

The two-time Pro Bowler reiterated that confidence last month at the Pro Bowl held in Las Vegas, saying he preferred a long-term deal.

“I’m not going to lie, this is where I want to be,” he said of the host city. “I’ve grown a fan base here, I’m deep into this organization, I’ve broke records and I built a home here … but at the same time, it’s got to make sense. I’m not going to let them come in and disrespect me or anything like that.”

The two sides now have until mid-July to negotiate a long-term deal or else Jacobs will play the 2023 season on the one-year franchise tag.
 
The Raiders selected Jacobs out of Alabama with the 24th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. He’s recorded 1,000 rushing yards in three of his four seasons in the league.

Jacobs is just the sixth player in Raiders’ history – and the first in over a decade – to have the franchise tag applied. 

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