Report: Contract hangup between Raiders and rookie Josh Jacobs has potential for holdout

Long gone are the days of contract holdouts the likes of Jamarcus Russell and Michael Crabtree being fairly regular occurrences. The new CBA which went into effect in 2010 brought with it a rookie wage scale, making the overall numbers slotted and all but eliminating holdouts. But they’re not unheard of. They still happen from time to time. Might Josh Jacobs be among the few?

Jacobs is the only Raiders rookie to not have signed his contact. They had signed all their day three draft picks in early May. On the first day of Raiders minicamp, they locked up all of their first and second round picks. All but Jacobs. According to Vic Tafur of the Athletic, it’s issues with the signing bonus payment schedule that has the two sides unable to reach an agreement. And this could continue into training camp.

Running back Josh Jacobs, one of the team’s three first-round picks in April, is the only Raiders draft pick still unsigned and league sources say the negotiations have not been going well. There is a growing sentiment that Jacobs will not be at camp when rookies report on July 23. (The official start of camp — when the veterans report — is three days later.)

You might recall Chargers third overall pick Joey Bosa held out in 2016 over the language in his contract. That holdout lasted until August 29, causing him to miss his entire rookie training camp. So, if you think Jacobs’s situation couldn’t draw out, you’d be mistaken. Though the odds suggest that if the rookies report to Napa on July 23 and Jacobs isn’t on the field the first day, you would figure he and the Raiders would be working feverishly to get him out there by the time the veterans take the field on July 27.