The Las Vegas Raiders announced today that they would be declining the fifth-year options for Clelin Ferrell, Josh Jacobs, and Johnathan Abram. Here’s what that means for the team moving forward.
The deadline for the fifth-year options for the 2019 NFL Draft class is fast approaching and the Las Vegas Raiders decided to make their decision known ahead of Day 2 and 3 of the 2022 NFL Draft. The Raiders had decisions to make on all three of their first-round picks from that draft and chose not to extend Clelin Ferrell, Josh Jacobs, and Johnathan Abram through the automatic process of the options.
Generally one of the early signs that a first-round pick was successful is that a team chooses to exercise their fifth-year options and keep them on board for five years. First-round picks all sign 4-year deals based on the rookie wage scale but these deals were previously all 5-year deals to keep a player under team control for an extended time.
Perhaps to give both the teams and players more flexibility, the fifth-year option was added but teams had to make the decision before May 3rd before the player’s fourth year begins. Hence why the clock was ticking for players selected in the 2019 NFL Draft and were headed into their fourth season.
The Raiders had 3 first-round picks that season thanks to the Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper trades and they made some questionable decisions with that draft windfall. They failed to find a true superstar and of course, failed to replace the production and star power of Khalil Mack.
It is not all bad news however so let’s dive into what this means for each player and why the Raiders chose to decline their respective options.