Raiders report: Davante Adams, Maxx Crosby support Josh Jacobs

Maxx Crosby lobbied his close friend Josh Jacobs until the deadline to sign a new deal with the Raiders.

His efforts were unsuccessful, but Crosby supports the running back in his search for a better deal.

“I was at his house,” Crosby said Wednesday after the first training camp practice. “Nobody asked me to go talk to him. I was at his house hanging out with him trying to get him — selfishly — to be here, but he’s got to do what makes sense for him and his family, and it goes both ways. So I’m just going to be here to support him. Obviously I want him here, but they’ve got to figure everything out. But that’s above my pay grade.”

Jacobs had until July 17 to work out a long-term contract with the Raiders, but that date passed without a deal. He now must either play on the franchise tag, agree to a one-year deal or sit out the season. He’s not in camp but isn’t considered a holdout because he’s not under contract with the team.

“Josh is a grown man. He’s got to make the best decision for him and his family,” Crosby said. “No matter what, Josh is like a brother to me. We came in together, we’ve had a bunch of different coaches together. … I’m going to support him in any way I can.”

Wide receiver Davante Adams agreed. He would love to have a star running back to take away some of the defensive attention, but he fully supports his teammate.

“I don’t really like to impose on those types of things,” said Adams, who indicated he has offered advice to Jacobs only when asked. “It’s a tough process, and it’s a lot of things. I’ve obviously been through it. There’s a lot of things that go on in your mind when you’re going through it.”

Even beyond the situation with Jacobs, the running back pay structure has become a major topic around the NFL. Crosby acknowledged the issue.

“They happen to be the only market that’s gone down (in pay),” Crosby said of the position. “That’s the reality. It’s crazy because those guys take the most damage. They’re getting the ball 300, 400 times a year, especially a guy like Josh and Saquon (Barkley) and those dudes. So, yeah, man, I want everyone to get paid. At the end of the day, those dudes are ballers.”

Stick to football

Cornerback Nate Hobbs was not seen during the team portion of Wednesday’s practice.

Hobbs suffered a nasty cut in a charity softball game Saturday night at Las Vegas Ballpark when he took a fly ball directly to the face while playing in the outfield.

Crosby, the captain of the team, said it was a wildly inconsistent effort by Hobbs even before the misplayed fly ball.

“I was just talking to the guys about that (in the locker room),” Crosby said with a laugh. “Nate Hobbs, in like two innings, he ran through the fence, he hit a home run, did a backflip and then took a pop fly off the top of his head all in the matter of like 10 minutes. So I’m like, this dude, he’s a little bit all over the place when it comes to softball.”

Attendance

Hobbs was one of four players under contract who were not spotted on the practice field. The other three are unable to participate.

Defensive tackle Neil Farrell was placed on the nonfootball injury list after the session, joining rookie edge rusher Tyree Wilson on the list. Rookie defensive tackle Byron Young is on the physically unable to perform list.

Freeing up space

Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers agreed to convert $3.92 million of base salary into a signing bonus and add two void years to his contract to help the Raiders relieve a tight salary cap situation.

Meyers signed with the team as a free agent on a three-year deal in March.

The move creates an additional $3.1 million in cap space.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.