Josh Jacobs and the Las Vegas Raiders couldn’t reach an agreement before the franchise tag deadline on Monday. A recent story made waves regarding how close the 25-year-old was to signing an extension, as Jacobs was waiting in his car outside of the team facility as the deadline ticked closer.
The Raiders running back was on standby in the parking lot. However, The Athletic’s Vic Tafur reported on Tuesday that an agreement between the two sides was never close to happening.
While it’s unknown when Jacobs will return to the Raiders, the team has to move forward. NFL.com’s Adam Rank examined Las Vegas’ roster and picked one breakout player Raider Nation should watch this 2023 season.
A Raiders-Josh Jacobs agreement was never close?
Tafur came out with information that might cause many to raise an eyebrow in shock. Jacobs was reportedly waiting in his car for both sides to reach an agreement; however, the Raiders beat writer stated that if Jacobs was in his car, hopefully he was keeping himself busy as the two sides weren’t close.
“Do it or don’t do it,” Tafur tweeted. “The Raiders don’t get points for trying a save-face offer at the last minute. [It’s] such a weird flex. It wasn’t that close. Hope Jacobs had the AC and some good tunes on waiting in the parking lot.”
Jacobs must now play the 2023 season with the Raiders on the franchise tag. Furthermore, there’s no telling when the current NFL rushing champion will return to the team as he will not partake in training camp.
There’s no ruling out a trade in Jacobs’ future, either. The lack of a long-term agreement between the running back and the Raiders only adds more clouds to an already uncertain situation.
Is Tyler Hall a breakout candidate?
Rank put together an in-depth piece regarding the Raiders’ state heading into a new NFL season. While touching hot-button topics like the quarterback situation, Rank also mentioned who he sees breaking out in Sin City.
Every season there’s at least one player that plays above what’s expected of them, and Rank predicts that player is Tyler Hall in 2023. The 24-year-old appeared in seven games last season for the Raiders, registering one sack and four passes defended.
Rank believes that Hall will be a breakout star candidate this upcoming season based on how the defensive back finished his ’22 campaign. Hall earned the second-highest defensive grade on the team (86.9) from Pro Football Focus. Maxx Crosby was the only defensive player with a better grade from PFF.
Hall built positive momentum heading into this season. Now, he will need to pick up where he left off.
*Top Photo: Getty Images Pool