Josh Jacobs looked reinvigorated in Sin City the moment Antonio Pierce assumed the head coaching reins after Josh McDaniels’ firing. Pierce has made sure Jacobs isn’t ignored in the Las Vegas Raiders‘ offense.
But will the Silver and Black have to turn elsewhere in the backfield ahead of their Week 18 finale against the Denver Broncos?
Josh Jacobs’ Playing Status Revealed for Broncos Game
Jacobs’ 2023 season has come to an end.
The Raiders made the decision to rule out their leading running back on Friday as he’s been dealing with a quadriceps injury.
Furthermore, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero detailed how Jacobs had been dealing with “two deep bone contusions that have restricted his range of motion,” which he reported on Saturday.
#Raiders RB Josh Jacobs, who will miss his fourth straight game after being ruled out for Sunday’s finale against Denver, has been dealing with two deep bone contusions that have restricted his range of motion, preventing him from being cleared by the team medical staff, per… pic.twitter.com/eonp1N4eH1
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero)
Jacobs sustained the quadriceps ailment during the Raiders’ Week 14 contest against the Minnesota Vikings. He ended that home loss with 13 carries for 34 yards in the 3-0 defeat.
Jacobs has not seen any kind of NFL action since that Dec. 10 loss. That officially means he’ll miss his fourth consecutive game.
With Jacobs out, he’ll end the 2023-24 season with 233 carries, 805 rushing yards, and six touchdowns. But again, he became a renewed focal point of the Raiders’ plans once “A.P.” took over as interim head coach.
How Antonio Pierce Got Jacobs More Involved in the End
For the first eight games, Jacobs had trouble surpassing 100 rushing yards. However, he only had one game that saw him carry the ball 25 times.
That was when McDaniels was calling the plays and leading the Raiders. Jacobs’ final numbers in that first eight-game stretch? He was given 133 carries, ran for 408 yards, and scored three times.
MORE: Las Vegas Raiders Depth Chart
While Pierce has his area of expertise on defense as a Super Bowl-winning linebacker, he let it be known Jacobs was getting the ball again. Here’s how Jacobs fared with Pierce making him more involved:
- Jacobs ended up with two games of surpassing 25 carries.
- He produced two 100-yard outings against the New York Jets (116) and in the road upset of the Kansas City Chiefs (110). Jacobs had no 100-yard outing in 2023 when McDaniels was the head coach.
- Jacobs scored three touchdowns in five games.
- Finally, the Pro Bowl running back went on to carry the ball 100 times and racked up 397 rushing yards with Pierce. Those numbers gave him an average of 3.97 yards per carry — far different from the 3.067 he was averaging under McDaniels.
Pierce, again, made sure he was going to ride the legs and horsepower of Jacobs. But now, will the Raiders rely on Jacobs moving forward?
Jacobs Still Heading to Free Agency?
Jacobs just may have played his final Raiders game, depending on how the 2024 free agency cycle goes.
He’s expected to be fully healthy by the time the calendar year hits March, per Pelissero. The middle of March is reserved as the period when the NFL’s free agency period, plus the new league year, begins.
The Raiders and Jacobs began with some early tension ahead of 2023. Jacobs ended up sitting out all of training camp and the preseason as he awaited a new deal. His name was also attached to the growing unrest among NFL running back values across the league — as no NFL team used the extension deadline period to sign an RB to a newer deal.
The Raiders, though, eventually elected to franchise tag him for the 2023 season, which ended his holdout.
Statistically, Jacobs endured the worst season of his career. Plus, his ’23 production is considered a massive drop-off from the 2022 campaign that saw him win the NFL’s rushing title.
But still, Jacobs had a late surge thanks to Pierce. And at 25, there will likely be teams who become enticed by his youthful state and lock him in on a longer-term deal.
PFN currently lists Jacobs as the second-best free agent RB for 2024 behind Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants.
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