For Josh Jacobs All Roads Lead Back to Vegas

For Josh Jacobs All Roads Lead Back to Vegas

21 August, 2023

According to a report by Vinny Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, running back Josh Jacobs is anticipated to return to the Las Vegas Raiders prior to the team’s September 10 season opener against the Denver Broncos.

The 25-year-old has been absent from the organization since he and the Raiders were unable to reach an agreement on a long-term contract before the July 17 deadline for the franchise tag. Jacobs did not sign the franchise tender, therefore he is unemployed. To return to the team, he could sign the $10.1 million franchise tag or a modified one-year contract.

Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels was queried about Jacobs’ status following Sunday’s preseason victory over the Los Angeles Rams. He stated that there was no new information, but added that Jacobs would need practice time to be game-ready, and that he has already missed a significant amount of it.

“I have no new information on J.J.,” McDaniels said. “This is the National Football League, so it’s not easy to just go out there and play games at the speed and level that you want to do it at if you haven’t had enough practice time to prepare yourself for that,” he said.

Last season, Jacobs led the league with 1,653 rushing yards, 2,013 all-purpose yards, and 12 touchdowns. Last season, he had five games with over 140 rushing yards and multiple touchdowns. No other athlete in the NFL had more than two performances of this nature.

However, a new season has begun, and McDaniels’ remarks suggest that time is of the essence.

“We’ve talked all year to our team about nothing carries over from one year to the next. You have to re-establish your individual level of performance and collectively as a unit, and ultimately as a team, we have to establish and re-establish ourselves in terms of what we’re going to be about,” he said. “So, whether it would be J.J. or somebody else, it’s the same thing. Everybody’s got to have an opportunity to do that, get re-acclimated to the pace, the speed of things. But again, I have no new information on the whole situation.”

If Jacobs’ absence continues into the regular season, second-year running back Zamir White will presumably start Week 1. Over the course of two preseason games, he has recorded 83 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. The Raiders also signed additional free-agent running backs.

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