PRO BOWL RB JOSH JACOBS MAY HAVE PLAYED LAST GAME AS A RAIDER
Las Vegas Raiders’ two-time Pro Bowl running back and NFL rushing yard leader Josh Jacobs played Saturday night against the Kansas City Chiefs amidst a tumultuous week for him and his family.
Jacobs flew in on Friday night from Tulsa, Oklahoma after he had been to visit his dad who had heart surgery on Wednesday after suffering a heart attack this week. Jacobs’ six-year-old son Braxton called 911 after he found his grandfather in pain on Tuesday, a call that might just have saved Marty Jacobs’ life. Marty went into emergency heart surgery on Wednesday, the following day in Tulsa where Josh Jacobs spent the last few days.
“My son and my dad are like best friends,” Jacobs told reporters a few hours before kickoff on Saturday. “It’s always like, you always see one, you always see the other. Man, I’m just happy he [Braxton] was really smart enough to understand what was going on in that situation. It was rough for me trying to explain to him what happened and stuff like that. I told him I’m proud of him. My pops said he’s his hero.”
As per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Jacobs asked his dad on Friday what he should do regarding the game on Saturday and his dad said he wanted him to play. So, Jacobs took a private jet that afternoon and flew back to Las Vegas, landing at 8 pm PST on Friday evening.
Jacobs wrapped up the 2022 season on Saturday with a league-leading 1,653 rushing yards after running for 45 yards on 17 rushing attempts against the Chiefs. Jacobs also put up 12 touchdowns on the ground this year.
Jacobs said after the Week 18 bout against Kansas City that it was “probably the hardest game he’s ever played” following the week he’s had with his family, not to mention Monday Night’s cardiac arrest scare with Bills safety Damar Hamlin that shook the entire Pro Football world.
“Not in the sense of physicality or anything like that,” Jacobs said. “Just mentally, you know, trying to stay in it. Being on the sideline and having too much time to think, to think about what’s going on. Being the rock of your family, it’s never easy when the person that’s your rock is going through it.”
Jacobs had the words “Pops” written on his eye black during the game and had said before the game that he would play the game in his honor.
Having been productive for the Raiders over the last four years, the 5-foot-10 running back is now beginning to see the recognition from his peers. Three-time Pro Bowl San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa said last week after their Week 17 game at Allegiant Stadium, “[Jacobs is] the best running back I’ve played against in my career. No doubt about it. That dude’s a beast.”
The Raiders didn’t pick up Jacobs’ fifth-year option before the season, meaning the 24-year-old running back will be a free agent when the new league year officially begins on March 15th.
Jacobs was selected 24th overall in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft from the University of Alabama and said after the Raiders’ loss to the 49ers, “The only thing on my mind really is spending this last week with these guys. The locker room will look a lot different next year and you don’t know who’s coming back and who’s done with football. So, I’m just trying to enjoy this time.”
In terms of the team’s commitment to bringing back Jacobs, Raiders’ general manager Dave Ziegler seems to be all for it and told the team’s digital media team regarding Jacobs’ contract situation and his future at the club, “[We’re] just very proud of Josh and what he’s done this year. A lot of the first year is getting to know people. And getting to know Josh as a player, and as a football player, his work ethic, his commitment to winning, his commitment to his own greatness, are things that you don’t know unless you spend time with people.
“So, that was a really encouraging thing to see this year, and Josh embodies a lot of the qualities that we want to build this foundation on. He loves football. He’s dependable. He’s tough. And he’s a really good football player and he’s explosive which is an important thing too. Those are the type of players that we want to be Raiders and that we want to build around.”
While Ziegler’s commitment to keeping one of the league’s best running backs in the desert is valid and apparent, Jacobs may not share the same sentiments.
A frustrated Josh Jacobs spoke after the team’s 13-10 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Eve. “Man, I’m tired of dealing with this *expletive [stuff],” Jacobs said. “I’m tired of dealing with this *expletive [stuff]. Like, every day I come here and bust my *expletive [butt]. I see the guys bust their *expletive [butts]. And the result is not there. And you know, for me, the last four years, the result hasn’t been there, and quite frankly I don’t know what else to do. So, yeah, that *expletive [stuff] is what it is.”
While Josh Jacobs has been impressive for the Raiders over his time in the league, setting numerous franchise records in the process including the most rushing yards for a Raider in their first two seasons (2,215), the team has been nothing but underwhelming.
The Raiders have only had one playoff appearance in six years and have in the past 16 months alone been plagued by off-the-field controversies including former head coach John Gruden’s “racist, misogynistic, and homophobic” emails, star wide receiver Henry Ruggs’ arrest and charge after the death of a woman in a car crash, and online circulation of a video of their first-round cornerback Damon Arnette brandishing firearms.
All things considered, it’s understandable why Jacobs would want to continue his career somewhere else, with an organization that wants to challenge for the Super Bowl every year. After all, the 24-year-old wouldn’t be short of suitors once he hits the open market in March.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.