Raiders Running Back Starts Holdout

Las Vegas Raiders veterans are due to report to the Intermountain Performance Center in Henderson, Nevada for their training camp on Tuesday. Running back Josh Jacobs will not be among them.

Jacobs remains unsigned after failing to reach a contract extension with the Raiders before last Monday’s deadline. His only options for the 2023 season are to sign the Raiders’ franchise tag offer, or not play at all, and he doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to make a decision.

Jacobs was seen departing from Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport on Monday, and he reportedly will not attend Raiders training camp without a contract, and according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, he doesn’t plan to return to Las Vegas soon.

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 last Monday.

In addition, Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott have been released and remain free agents 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 if he does not attend training camp. He would lose one game check, or about $595,000, for each game he does not play.

The Steelers face the Raiders in a Week 3 trip to Las Vegas on Sunday Night Football. It certainly has become more likely that Jacobs may miss that game or have his season preparations impacted by his lack of attendance at training camp.

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.

While the issues with running backs may aid the Steelers if they don’t have to face Jacobs in Week 3, the Steelers are likely in for some of their own issues when Najee Harris’ contract comes up in 2026.

Harris reportedly took part in a league-wide running back Zoom meeting over the weekend hosted by Los Angeles Chargers back Austin Ekeler.