No deal reached between Raiders, Josh Jacobs as deadline passes

In what has become a trend around the NFL, the Raiders and star running back Josh Jacobs were unable to come to terms on a multi-year contract before Monday’s deadline to do so for players operating under the franchise tag designation.

According to a person close to the situation, the two sides made considerable progress in the closing hours before the deadline. And while they weren’t able to agree on a deal, the hope is there is a starting point and framework in place for when Jacobs and the Raiders are able to resume talks at the end of the season.

But that is a long way away.

Neither the Raiders nor Jacobs’ agent responded to a request for comment.

Jacobs, who led the NFL last year with 1,653 rushing yards, joins fellow star running back Saquon Barkley of the Giants and up-and-coming running back Tony Pollard of the Cowboys as players who were unable to strike long-term deals with their clubs on Monday.

As a result, each is obligated to play this season on terms of the franchise tag. For running backs, the tag is valued at $10.09 million. By rule, any hopes of longer deals must be shelved until after this season.

In the case of Jacobs and Barkley, neither has officially signed their franchise tag tenders and both have expressed an unwillingness to report to training camp next week unless long-term deals were reached. With neither officially under contract, they are not subject to the mandatory fines that players who are under contract face when holding out of camp.

The question now becomes, at what point will the Raiders see Jacobs back in the fold this year, if at all?

It makes sense that he will not put himself in harm’s way by participating in training camp — or at least part of it — especially when money is not a factor. A serious injury could sabotage his chances for a lucrative long-term deal at the end of this season, and given how the NFL’s payday schedule doesn’t begin until the regular season, it makes little sense he would take that chance.

The regular season, though, is a whole other issue. If Jacobs opts to sit out games, he’d be surrendering money he will likely never recoup while waging a protest that can’t be resolved until next offseason. And as so many running backs around the league are learning, the harsh reality is there has been a major shift in how the NFL monetarily views running backs.

In the case of Jacobs, it’s understandable he wanted more than the $10.09 million — particularly in the full guarantees that come with a multi-year deal, But on the flip side, his base salary is tied for third in the NFL at his position behind Clevelnd’s Nick Chubb (10.85 million) and Tennessee’s Derrick Henry at $10.5 million. In terms of cash payout, the figure is within $2 million of the league’s highest number of $12 million for the 49ers Christian McCaffrey.

In fact, his salary this year is more than 16 teams will pay their entire corps of running back this year.

That is yet another sign of the bleak financial market facing running backs.

Nevertheless, as Monday progressed the Raiders were willing to go above the market trends to secure Jacobs beyond this season. They were unable to close the deal before the deadline, and now Jacobs has a big decision to make on when he will report to the Raiders.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.