Josh Jacobs Tweet Hints At Possible Le'Veon Bell Scenario, Could Raiders RB Sit Out This Season?

Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs put up monster numbers in 2022. He led the NFL in rushing with 1,653 yards, plus added 400 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns.

This offseason, the Raiders placed the franchise tag on Jacobs. That tag comes with a $10 million salary for this upcoming season and no commitment from the team beyond that. The Raiders handed him the tag in March, but he has not signed it.

Josh Jacobs of the Las Vegas Raiders led the league in rushing in 2022, but the team has not offered him a long-term contract. (Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images)

On Saturday, Jacobs sent out a tweet that makes it seem like he's not going to sign any time soon.

"Sometimes it’s not about you," Jacobs wrote. "We gotta do it for the ones after us."

Jacobs seems to imply that he wants to hold out for the future of the running back position. Once one of the most important positions in football, running backs are heavily devalued in today's NFL.

Jacobs alluded to that earlier this month.

The New York Giants placed the franchise tag on Saquon Barkley, as well. And Barkley does not want to play under that tag, either. He wants a new contract.

But those are hard to come by for running backs. I wrote about that extensively here.

Though Barkley appears to be unhappy, he did post on social media wearing a Giants helmet, though he remains away from the team.

So, it seems that Barkley is probably going to suit up for the team, either way.

It's not so clear with Josh Jacobs, however. His situation is similar to that of former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell.

Bell recorded a league-high 321 carries in 2017 and rushed for 1,291 yards. That was just 38 yards fewer than league-leader Kareem Hunt.

During the offseason, the Steelers tagged Bell. But he refused to play under the franchise tag. Bell took it so far that he sat out the entire 2018 season, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.

The New York Jets rewarded him with a four-year, $52.5 million deal, though just $27 million was guaranteed.

But Bell never regained the form from prior to his year-long holdout. He had a total of 1,218 yards rushing over his next three seasons combined.

Le'Veon Bell sat out an entire season after the Pittsburgh Steelers placed the franchise tag on the running back. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Bell got paid, but his holdout really didn't help future running backs. If anything, it showed that they are replaceable and don't age particularly well.

Which brings us back to Josh Jacobs. Sure, he wants to help future running backs. But it's hard to see a path where that works out. The Raiders likely are not going to offer him a long-term contract. He has over 1,000 career carries already under his belt.

The Minnesota Vikings released Dalvin Cook, another example of a veteran running back viewed as dispensable by his team.

If anything, the drafting of Bijan Robinson (#8 overall) and Jammer Gibbs (#12 overall) did more for the position than any contract holdout could. It showed that some NFL teams still value the position, at least to some degree.

It's admirable that Jacobs is willing to sacrifice some of his own money to help those after him.

But, it's fair to wonder if there's really anything he can do.

And, if not, he might as well take the $10 million.