Getty Image / Jeff Bottari
This week, the bleak state of the running back market has become a major topic of conversation around the football world.
Throughout the current NFL offseason, running backs have struggled to get paid.
Austin Ekeler wanted a raise. The Chargers let him look for a trade, but he couldn’t find a team. He ended up agreeing to added incentives in his contract.
Dalvin Cook was released. He’s still stuck in a free agent market that includes Ezekiel Elliott, Leonard Fournette, and Kareem Hunt.
Joe Mixon had to take a pay cut to stay with the Bengals.
Tony Pollard, Saquon Barkley, and Josh Jacobs all got hit with the franchise tag.
Barkley and Jacobs tried to get longer deals out of their teams, but weren’t able to get anything done and are now stuck either playing on the tag or not playing in 2023.
Since then, leverage has been a big topic of conversation as people try to figure out how running backs can get paid more.
There have even been reports about the two running backs potentially holding out to get that leverage.
Unfortunately for everybody at the position, they generally don’t have much and that will remain true even if Barkley and Jacobs hold out.
This is especially true for Josh Jacobs, who headed into negotiations with very little leverage.
Th reality for Josh Jacobs is that he was negotiating with a team that was done with him a year ago.
The Las Vegas Raiders made that abundantly clear with the moves they made last offseason.
Jacobs had struggled in 2021, running for just 872 yards and averaging 4 yards per carry.
Then the franchise brought in a new head coach and a new GM. They decided they didn’t want to pick up the 5th-year option on Jacobs’ rookie contract.
The following day, they appeared to find Jacobs’ eventual replacement when they spent a 4th round pick on Georgia running back Zamir White.
Jacobs ended up making the decision to decline that option look like a big mistake. He led the league in rushing in 2022 with 1653 yards and added 400 more yards receiving.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t really seem to matter now.
If Jacobs decides to sit out during the regular season, they already have an alternative lined up.
White didn’t put up monster numbers in college as he split carries with players like D’Andre Swift and James Cook. However, he was a consistently strong player for the Bulldogs, averaging more than 5 yards per carry in each of his 3 college seasons.
After drafting him a year ago to be Jacobs’ replacement, the Raiders could be comfortable with the idea of seeing what White has to offer leading their backfield.
Josh Jacobs had a great 2022 season and was clearly hoping that would earn him a long-term commitment from the Las Vegas Raiders, but he never really had much leverage in negotiations and now he doesn’t have any heading into the 2023 season.