Josh Jacobs News

This was the expectation all along, as the tag keeps Jacobs from hitting the open market next week and allows the two sides to keep talking for the next four months in hopes of coming to terms on a multi-year deal. Jacobs is coming off a career year where he rushed 340 times for a league-high 1,653 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also added 400 receiving yards on 53 catches. Jacobs should again be a fantasy difference-maker in 2023.

The Las Vegas Raiders have officially used the franchise tag on running back Josh Jacobs. Jacobs was set to become a free agent this offseason after the team elected not to pick up the former first-round pick's fifth-year option ahead of the 2022 season, but he will now return to the team on the franchise tag for the 2023 season. Both parties could still come to a more long-term agreement during the offseason, but this essentially guarantees that Jacobs will still be a Raider for the next year. While it looked like the Raiders were preparing to move on from Jacobs ahead of the 2022 season, he became the focal point of new head coach Josh McDaniels' offense, carrying the ball 340 times for 1,653 yards and 12 touchdowns while adding 53 catches for 400 more yards. With little competition currently sitting behind him on the Raiders' depth chart, he should be expected to handle a similar workload for the upcoming 2023 season.

Jacobs always seemed unlikely to leave Las Vegas after leading the league in rushing in his first season under coach Josh McDaniels. The Raiders can make him try and prove it again on a one-year, fully-guaranteed tag if they don't feel comfortable making Jacobs one of the highest-paid running backs in the league. No matter what happens, it sounds like Jacobs will remain with the Raiders for 2023.

Jacobs was a workhorse in his fourth NFL season, producing the league-high 1,653 rushing yards on 340 carries and scoring 12 touchdowns. The Raiders didn't pick up the 2019 first-round draft pick's fifth-year option prior to the season, resulting in Jacobs becoming a free agent. After Jacobs responded with his best campaign as a pro, there's likely to be mutual interest between him and the Raiders, though Jacobs should have plenty of other suitors in free agency as well.

Jacobs accounted for 17 of 18 carries by Las Vegas running backs, but he struggled to find room to run. His longest gain of the day went for 12 yards, though he still managed only 2.6 yards per carry. Jacobs ends the season with 1,653 rushing yards, which will likely be good enough to lead the league. He also chipped in 53 receptions for 400 yards while finding the end zone a total of 12 times. Jacobs is set to become a free agent and will be one of the top available running backs.

According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the running back didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday while spending time in Tulsa with his father, who had emergency heart surgery, per sources. However, the NFL's leading rusher will be available versus Kansas City and assuming no setbacks with the hip and oblique issues he's managed of late, Jacobs should lead the Raiders' Week 18 backfield. If he ends up limited at all, Zamir White, Brandon Bolden and Ameer Abdullah would be candidates to log added snaps in the 6-10 team's season finale.