3 Las Vegas Raiders players who should change their number
By Brad Weiss
3 Las Vegas Raiders players who should change their number
Josh Jacobs: From No. 28 to No. 8
Nowadays, the No. 28 for the Raiders franchise represents one of the best young running backs in football. Josh Jacobs has come into the league from the University of Alabama and become a tremendous three-down back for Jon Gruden and this Raiders offense and is fresh off his first Pro Bowl nod.
In his two years, Jacobs has gone over 1,000 yards in each season, and he is only going to get better. While fans are used to seeing No. 28 run all over the field, and opposing defenses, a move back to his No. 8 that he wore with the Crimson Tide would be a clean look, though he would have to convince Marcus Mariota to give it up if he decided to do so.
Jacobs holds the No. 8 close to his heart, literally, and figuratively, as he has a 14-karat gold, diamond-encrusted No. 8 charm that he never takes off. He discussed the No. 8 with ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez back in 2019:
"“When I got to wear 8 in high school, I had a breakout year,” said Jacobs, who wears No. 28 for the Raiders. “Same in college. I can’t wear 8 in the league, obviously, so it’s just symbolic. It’s also my birth number [he was born in 1998], so that’s kind of weird. … It’s just literally my favorite number, so I just feel like I play better with it. I don’t know how to explain it; it’s just something about the 8 that just, it puts me mentally in a different place. I take showers in it, everything.”"
If given the opportunity, I could definitely see Jacobs rocking that No. 8 in the Silver and Black.