Josh Jacobs is yet to put pen to paper on his franchise tender with the Las Vegas Raiders, but that does not mean the star running back is taking things easy over the off-season.
The 2022 rushing champion was seen squatting 550lbs in the gym in a video posted by his agency, Black Label Sports Group, with the 25-year-old showing off his immense strength and explosiveness.
The former Alabama star is caught up in a dispute with the Raiders after they declined his fifth-year option before the start of the 2022 season, only for Jacobs to rack up an NFL-leading 1,653 yards for the Silver and Black, with 12 rushing touchdowns.
With the parties unable to agree on a new long-term deal, the Raiders prevented Jacobs from hitting the open market in March by using the franchise tag, which will see Jacobs paid a guaranteed $10million (£8m) next season.
But Jacobs believes he is worth more and wants more long-term security, so he has not put his signature on the franchise tender from the Raiders and, he did not show up to mini-camp or organised team activities (OTAs). On Saturday, Jacobs posted a cryptic tweet, seemingly about his contract situation. "Sometimes it’s not about you," he said. "We gotta do it for the ones after you."
Jacobs seemed to be referencing the devaluing of the running back position over the years, which has seen fewer rushers handed big-money contracts with executives instead investing more heavily in quarterbacks, receivers and pass rushers.
But Jacobs has made clear he is unwilling to play a part in driving down the value of the running back market and he is intent on pushing hard to get the deal he feels he deserves from the Raiders.
The Raiders will be eager to have the issue solved by the time training camp gets underway next month given the heightened role Jacobs will have in the offense amid huge uncertainty surrounding the status of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Vegas signed Garappolo as a free agent from the San Francisco 49ers to replace long-serving quarterback Derek Carr, but it has since emerged that Garoppolo required surgery on a foot injury in March, meaning he is yet to take the field and practice with his teammates.
It remains to be seen if or when Garoppolo will be fit to return to the field but, with or without him, the Raiders are going to be heavily reliant on the running game as a new quarterback – Garoppolo or backup Brian Hoyer – beds into a new offense.
