3. How does Las Vegas approach the Josh Jacobs situation?
For the second offseason in a row, the Raiders franchise is going to have to make a decision on star running back Josh Jacobs. Last offseason, Jacobs was coming off one of the best rushing seasons in Raiders history, as he led the NFL in rushing yards, but the same cannot be said for 2023.
Jacobs struggled with inconsistent play all season long, and in the end, he saw his season finish up with four games left to go. In his place, second-year running back Zamir White was outstanding for the Silver and Black, rushing for over 100 yards twice, including a near-150 yard effort against Kansas City on Christmas Day.
That is where this gets interesting for Telesco and his staff, as they have to figure out what to do next with Jacobs. He is still very young in terms of his running back age, as he is only going to be 26-years old this season, but we have seen running backs fall off a cliff in terms of productivity as they creep towards that age-30 season.
White proved he could handle the load this season, but he may not be ready to take on the role full-time. Luckily for the Raiders, this free agency class is loaded with running backs, and while it would have been a ton of money to ink Jacobs to a long-term deal last offseason, they may be able to get a multi-year contract done with him for much less this year.