Steelers Star Opponent Likely to End Holdout

Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs is likely to end his holdout and report to the team prior to Week 1, Vincent Bonsginore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. The Steelers are set to play the Raiders in Las Vegas on September 24th in Week 3 of the season.

“Running back Josh Jacobs is expected to report to the Raiders before their season opener in three weeks, multiple league sources have indicated,” Bonsginore wrote.

However, the Raiders want Jacobs to ramp up and be ready to play. He still has to sign his franchise tag, pass all conditioning and physical tests, and then assimilate into the team before taking the football field. Jacobs is holding out as part of the NFL’s running backs and their efforts to reshape their market. Jacobs did not report for the opening of Raiders training on July 24th and has not been around the team since the end of the 2022 season.

Jacobs’ play had a huge impact on the Raiders’ performance in 2022. He led the NFL in rushing yards (1,653) and yards per game (97.2), total touches (393) and yards from scrimmage (2,053). The Raiders return Ameer Abdullah and have free agent Brandon Bolden to back up Jacobs. Abdullah rushed for 20 yards in 2022 and Bolden 66.

Jacobs has been front and center in an NFL offseason that has seen plenty of attention paid to the relative value of running backs. Jacobs, New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley and Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard all did not reach long-term extensions before the long-term extension deadline for the franchise tag. In addition, top running backs such as Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott have been released this offseason and Joe Mixon took a pay cut with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Because Jacobs is not yet under contract, he would not face fines or discipline for not training at camp. He would lose one game check, or about $595,000, for each game he does not play. While it does appear he is set to return, that does not mean that Jacobs will be a well-oiled machine by the time the Steelers meet with the Raiders