Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs really likes the idea of playing with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. But recent comments by Las Vegas general manager Dave Ziegler make that appear unlikely, at least with the Raiders.
Rodgers’ future is a favorite subject of offseason NFL speculation, with the questions focused on if the four-time league MVP will continue playing, and if so, if that will be in a 19th season with the Green Bay Packers or after a trade to another team.
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Las Vegas is a favorite match for Rodgers on the rumor mill. But Ziegler didn’t make it sound as though the Raiders would make that happen this offseason as Las Vegas seeks to replace Derek Carr.
The Raiders released Carr on Feb. 14. He’d spent nine seasons as the team’s quarterback, but with $40.4 million of his contract set to become guaranteed on Feb. 15, Las Vegas let him go.
“We’re in charge of filling the most important position on the team, and so there’s some pressure that comes along with that,” Ziegler said during an appearance on the “Bussin’ with the Boys” podcast. “And however we fill it doesn’t mean we’re going to have an immediate answer this year. But at the end of the day, we have to have an answer in some form or fashion. There’s pressure that comes along with it, but again that’s also part of the excitement, too, is that pressure, is finding that guy, and that’ll be the next task.”
The Raiders have the seventh choice and at least 10 other selections in the 2023 NFL Draft and at least 10 picks in the 2024 draft currently, giving Las Vegas the flexibility to target a top-flight college quarterback.
When the Raiders benched Carr for the final two games of the 2022 season in preparation for the offseason maneuver, they gave former Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham his first NFL starts.
Stidham is heading toward free agency next month, but with four seasons in Raiders coach Josh McDaniels’ offensive system, Las Vegas still appears his best match.
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For Jacobs, Rodgers would be the ultimate answer and motivate him to re-sign with the Raiders. The NFL’s 2022 rushing leader is headed toward free agency, too, next month.
“With my contract coming up, that definitely plays a big part in what I want to do,” Jacobs said during an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “I love the thought of Aaron Rodgers, man. Just to be able to see a guy that’s that elite, to be able to see how he moves on a day-to-day basis and to be able to pick his brain and ask him what he seen on different coverages or different defenses or what he thinks about this play or that play, it’s something I really would enjoy.”
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As a free agent, Jacobs also could go wherever Rodgers is playing in 2023. But even if Las Vegas doesn’t work out a long-term contract with Jacobs, the Raiders have the option of keeping him via the franchise tag. That would commit Las Vegas to paying Jacobs $10.091 million for the 2023 season and extend its window to work out a new contract with the former Alabama standout.
Jacobs said he’d prefer to stay with the Raiders.
“I always had thought of like Kobe (Bryant),” Jacobs said. “Wanted to start with one team and finish with one team. Just coming in with the guys I came in with – I came in with Maxx (Crosby) and a couple of other guys – and I remember the conversations we used to have about changing the culture of the Raiders, of getting back to the winning culture. Just to be able to be a part of that, I think, would mean the world to me.
“I mean, I just built a crib out there, and you know it’s tax-free, too.”
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.