The Las Vegas Raiders might have their Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs on the field for Week 1 after all. According to a recent report by Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vinny Bonsignore, Jacobs is expected to end his holdout and rejoin the team before the start of the 2023 NFL season.
Jacobs has been away from the team after the Raiders placed a franchise tag on him in July. The 25-year-old player had his rookie deal expire at the end of the 2022 campaign, and the two sides haven’t been able to agree to a long-term extension.
There are two ways Jacobs can play for the Raiders this upcoming season. He can sign his franchise tag and get a $10.1 million base salary in 2023. The other option is that the two sides agree on a one-year deal, similar to what the New York Giants and Saquon Barkley did earlier this month.
When asked about Jacobs’ status over the weekend, Raiders’ head coach Josh McDaniels said he doesn’t have any updates. He also reiterated that Jacobs wouldn’t be able to show up and play immediately due to the time he was away in the preseason.
“I mean, I would say I think that it’s important for every player — this is the National Football League, so it’s not easy to go out there and just play games and do it at the speed and level that you want to do it at unless you’ve really kind of had enough opportunity to get yourself ready to do that,” McDaniels said.
Jacobs had a career year in 2022, leading the league with 1,653 rushing yards while also adding 12 touchdowns on the ground. He made the First-team All-Pro and got his second career Pro Bowl nod.
