News: Josh Jacobs ‘expected’ to be back by Week 1

With rookies already in training camp for the Las Vegas Raiders and the veterans reporting tomorrow, expect to hear plenty of news surrounding the ever-evolving story between the Raiders and star running back Josh Jacobs.

At this point, we know not to expect Jacobs to show up at Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center when the other vets do, but the latest development comes via The Athletic’s Tashan Reed, who reported that the back is expected to be back soon.

“The Raiders and Jacobs weren’t able to come to an agreement on a contract extension, so the running back has no choice but to play on the franchise tag in order to play for them this season,” Reed wrote. “While Jacobs can no longer get a new deal, he’s expected to skip training camp as a show of his discontent with the situation. In theory, he could go as far as to request a trade or even threaten to sit out the entire 2023 season. The expectation is he’s back in the fold before Week 1, but it’ll be something to monitor until that happens.”

That’s good news as rumors were swirling that the 2023 rushing champion might take a page out of Le’Veon Bell’s and sit out of the regular season as well.

Granted, NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero tweeted earlier today that the back was spotted boarding a flight leaving Las Vegas. Jacobs was notably in town—and in the parking lot at the team’s facilities with Maxx Crosby—last Tuesday in hopes that he and the Raiders could reach an agreement on a long-term contract ahead of the deadline for franchise-tagged players to do so. Obviously, that handshake never happened, and he appears to be headed home for the time being.

However, it does appear as if the Raiders will have one of the best players in the lineup for the season-opener on September 10 against the Denver Broncos. It’s just a matter of how many practice reps Jacobs will get between now and then.