Josh Jacobs has returned to the Raiders after clearing the air at dinner.
ARLINGTON, TX – Whatever remained between the Raiders and star running back Josh Jacobs began to dissipate somewhere between the appetizers and main course Thursday night at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas’ Scarpetta restaurant.
By the time Jacobs and his agent Chad Wiestling finished dinner with Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler, a connection had been formed that would eventually bring Jacobs back to the organization.
“We were able to have some open conversations and laid some things on the table,” Ziegler told me. “And if there was anything we needed to get on the same page on, we were able to do that.”
Jacobs and the Raiders have agreed to a one-year, $12 million contract for the 2023 season. That is about $2 million more than Jacobs was set to make on the $10.1 million franchise tag he received from the Raiders in March.
Jacobs is slated to begin training with the Raiders next week, with plans to participate in the season opener against the Denver Broncos on September 10th.
The dinner on Thursday night was the deciding factor, as it gave Ziegler, Jacobs, and Wiestling an opportunity to chat face to face and establish the required common ground to end a contract disagreement that had held Jacobs away from the team for the entire offseason program and training camp.
“We were able to talk through some things and run through some things,” Ziegler told me. “There had been some previous conversations that had laid a few bricks down.” But I believe Thursday night was the first time we saw some movement.”
This included increasing Jacobs’ prospective revenues by roughly $2 million above the franchise price.
“We wanted to do something that we were going to be good with and the player was going to be happy about,” he added. “And I think that’s where we’re at.”
On Saturday morning, the former Alabama star used to social media to announce his return, writing, “I’m back.”
The Raiders had been hopeful that Jacobs would ultimately return to the fold, and the financial obligation he would have incurred by sitting out games was so exorbitant that it always made sense that he would be back in time for the start of the season.
Jacobs, the Raiders’ first-round pick in 2019, has run for more over 1,000 yards in three of his four seasons. Last season, he led the league with 1,653 yards, a career high.
Jacobs’ 2022 season came after the Raiders declined to pick up his fifth-year option for 2023. As a result, he was on the verge of becoming a free agent in March.
Prior to the start of free agency, Jacobs and the Raiders worked on a multiyear contract, but when talks fell through, the Raiders chose to use the nonexclusive franchise tag on him.
The tag distinction gave the two parties additional time to negotiate a long-term agreement. However, as the NFL’s July 17 deadline expired, any potential of an extension was moved to beyond the completion of the 2023 season.
The Raiders, according to Ziegler, are still interested in pursuing a long-term contract with Jacobs.
“If it works out that way, and obviously there’s a lot of moving parts, but it’s something that we’ll definitely consider and have interest in doing,” Ziegler said in an interview.
The question now is whether the Raiders will be able to rely on Jacobs in the season opener against the Broncos.
The Raiders will practice twice this week before returning to a three-practice work week leading up to the game. Is five sessions going to be enough to get Jacobs in the football shape he needs to go full throttle in Denver?
“We’ll wait and make a smart decision on that once we’re able to start practicing, see where we’re at, and take it from there,” Ziegler said in an interview.
Other options include Jacobs playing a limited role against the Broncos while splitting playing time with second-year running back Zamir White, or sitting Jacobs against Denver with the goal of having his season debut against the Bills in Buffalo on Sept. 17.
Vincent Bonsignore can be reached at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. On X, follow @VinnyBonsignore.
