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The Las Vegas Raiders surprised the NFL world during the Hall of Fame Game against the Jacksonville Jaguars as Josh Jacobs went on a couple of drives and recorded seven touchdowns in the exhibition game.
The starters don’t play much — if at all — in this special preseason game, which has led to some speculation about Jacobs’ future. However, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Raiders’ top running back is off the trade block, saying the team has “no plans” to trade him.
New Raiders coach Josh McDaniels he tried to explain because Jacobs played more than expected last Thursday night, saying he wanted his backs to see some real game action.
“I always think it’s good for running backs to carry the ball in the preseason,” McDaniels said after the game. “There’s a lot of things that happen when you get tackled and hit that you can’t simulate in practice. I think all of our guys had the ball tonight. I think all of our guys either caught it or had the ball passed to them and had We can’t really simulate it or repeat it in practice.”
The No. 24 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Alabama is coming off a season in which he recorded 1,220 yards from scrimmage and nine total touchdowns. However, the team declined to pick up his fifth-year option, meaning Jacobs will be a free agent next offseason.
Rapoport makes a good case for why the Raiders don’t want to trade their top running back. First, he is their obvious starter, but he also comes very cheap in 2022 as his base salary is $2.12 million, per Spotrac. It’s true that the Raiders have several other running backs who will get touches like Brandon Bolden, Ameer Abdullah and rookie Zamir White, but Jacobs is the one with the most experience as a starter in this organization.
What happens with Jacobs next offseason will certainly be something to watch, but Vegas reportedly doesn’t want to part ways with him right now.
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