Jacobs doesn’t report; Raiders respect his stance

Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff WriterJul 25, 2023, 02:44 PM ET
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HENDERSON, Nev. — Josh Jacobs not reporting Tuesday for the first day of Las Vegas Raiders training camp was expected. After all, he and the Raiders not only failed to reach agreement on a contract extension by last week’s deadline, but the first-team All-Pro running back still has not signed his franchise tag.

Jacobs cannot be fined for missing time in training camp, as he doesn’t have a signed contract.

Still, coach Josh McDaniels reiterated Tuesday he would welcome Jacobs back, whenever he chooses to report.

“I know Dave [Ziegler] and Tom [Delaney] worked feverishly with his representation last week to do what they could,” McDaniels said of the Raiders general manager and he team’s senior vice president/director of football administration.

“I respect [Jacobs’] decision to ultimately not sign a deal at that point. So right now, I mean, it is what it is. There hasn’t been much since the deadline and certain things can change, obviously, we know that, but that’s obviously a lot of his decision and I respect whatever he chooses to do. That’s his choice and so I look forward to seeing him when we do.”

The depressed running back market changed a bit Tuesday morning when the New York Giants‘ Saquon Barkley, who had also not signed his tag nor agreed to an extension, agreed to a new one-year deal that adjusted his franchise tag. As such, the adjusted franchise tag worth $10.1 million is fully guaranteed and worth up to $11 million with incentives while being adjusted with a $2 million signing bonus, as well as an additional $909,000 in incentives to be paid an equal amount in three categories (1,350 rushing yards and a playoff berth, 11 touchdowns and 65 receptions).

“Anything can certainly change in that regard,” McDaniels said. “And look, I’m a coach, I’d love to have every one of them here. That’s just obviously a preference of ours so we can work with each player. But when that is, we’ll see.

“I respect every player’s right to try to do what’s best for them. That’s why the league is what it is, in terms of value and contracts, and those things are personal … I’ve said it multiple times this spring — I respect him tremendously, have a great deal of respect for him as a player, as a person, what he did for our team last year and I look forward to seeing him whenever he’s here and I respect that process, too. It’s his decision to make and I know they all have to do what they think is best for them.”

Jacobs, a first-round pick of the Raiders in 2019, did not have his fifth-year option picked up by Las Vegas last year and responded with the best season of his career. He led the NFL in rushing yards (1,653) and yards from scrimmage (2,053) while catching 53 passes for a career high 400 yards and his 12 rushing touchdowns also tied a career high.

He has remained mostly silent on his situation, aside from a few cryptic tweets suggesting he preferred the security that came with a longer-term deal, rather than a more lucrative shorter-term contract.

Also Tuesday, McDaniels said there would be no “restrictions” on quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who is coming off March surgery to his left foot and passed his physical over the weekend.

“We’ll do what we always do with players that are coming off any type of rehabilitation — we’ll do it the right way,” McDaniels said. “So, it might not be 100% of the repetitions the first day, but we would never do that with anybody.”

McDaniels also said there was “no timeline” for first-round draft pick Tyree Wilson to come off the non-football injury lost. The edge rusher, taken No. 7 overall, had surgery on his right foot in November and a follow-up procedure in March to remove hardware.

“It’s headed in the right direction,” McDaniels said, no question about it. Excited about that. And this is, again, just the process that we expected, based on what was happening at the time we drafted him. We knew that there was going to be a rehabilitation process and then there’s going to be a re-acclimation phase here. So, he’s doing a great job of everything he’s doing right now. Once he’s ready to roll, then we’ll reenter him into practice the right way and then get him ready to go for the regular season.”