NFL Trade Rumors: Raiders not willing to lose Josh Jacobs after Colts allow Jonathan Taylor to seek exit
Josh Jacobs and Jonathan Taylor are just two of a number of running backs who undoubtedly feel slighted by the events that transpired this offseason. Namely, owners and general managers deciding to hold onto their cash instead of paying arguably the most dangerous position in football.
The Colts have let Taylor pursue a trade a la Lamar Jackson, but what about the Raiders and their situation with Jacobs? According to Tom Pelissero on X, formerly Twitter, the Raiders have seemingly no interest in trading their star running back. He wrote in his tweet:
"While the Colts let Jonathan Taylor seek a trade, league sources say the Raiders have shown no interest in trading their star RB Josh Jacobs.
"Jacobs hasn't signed his tender, and no deal is imminent to get him into camp. The NFL rushing champ's status for Week 1 remains TBD."
Still, the two sides remain at an impasse as Jacobs has not signed his franchise tag tender and no deal appears imminent. As such, his availability for Week 1 remains unclear.
Will Josh Jacobs play in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos?
The running back has missed nearly a month of practice over the holdout and with the regular season on the near horizon, fans are nervous about the revamped team. Jimmy Garoppolo's injury concerns dictate that having a strong running game is paramount to keep the ball out of his hands.
However, if the team is forced to do without Jacobs, it would most likely force Garoppolo to throw even more, opening extra sack opportunities and injury potential. Even if the team gets him back at the 11th hour, it still sets the team back.
There is no guarantee that he'll show up in football shape or with a perfect understanding of the playbook. Sure, he's ran in the Josh McDaniels' system before, but the New England Patriots' system is dependent on change on a weekly basis.
If it changes on a weekly basis, it also changes on a yearly basis. As such, Josh Jacobs will have his homework cut out if he does come back.
In other words, if he comes back much later than essentially today, he could easily be a fraction of his peak potential for Week 1. The team might be happy to rush him into the lineup, but it doesn't mean that Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph won't have an advantage.
Of course, there's always the possibility that Josh Jacobs wants to follow in the footsteps of Le'Veon Bell, and skip the year entirely. However, Bell's precedent shows that bad things happen to running backs who skip a year on principle. Following his holdout, he never again crossed 1000 yards.