Raiders: Saquon Barkley’s new contract may have screwed over Josh Jacobs

Saquon Barkley’s new contract with the New York Giants could mean bad tidings for Las Vegas Raiders Pro Bowler Josh Jacobs. 

The New York Giants and Saquon Barkley avoided a contract stalemate ahead of training camp. The star running back initially refused to play on the franchise tag, and well, he did technically avoid the franchise tag. That said, Barkley’s new contract isn’t the best news for stars around the league at his position.

Barkley signed a one-year, $10.1 million contract — the same amount as the franchise tag. He will receive $2 million up front as a signing bonus and he has $909,000 in potential incentives to sweeten the pot. That said, his contract also leaves open the possibility of New York using the franchise tag on Barkley next summer, so he could endure the same song and dance a year from now.

That should worry, say, Josh Jacobs. The NFL’s leading rusher from a year ago, Jacobs is also in the middle of his own contract dispute with the Las Vegas Raiders. He doesn’t want to play for the franchise tag and he, like Barkley, is threatening to hold out of training camp until a new deal is signed.

Well, Barkley just eviscerated any hope of Jacobs having leverage.

New Saquon Barkley contract could screw over Josh Jacobs in negotiations with Las Vegas Raiders

Jacobs was the most productive running back in football last season. He plowed through defenders to the tune of 1,653 yards and 12 touchdowns. He added another 400 yards through the air for good measure. He’s only 25 years old, right at the front end of his prime. A decade ago, he would be primed for a historic payday.

Unfortunately, the NFL has changed drastically over the last decade. One of the most drastic changes has been the perceived value of running backs around the league. Teams are concerned about durability. That means fewer backs are being deployed in feature roles, and the few backs who are deployed in feature roles don’t receive long-term financial commitments. There’s too much inherent injury risk tied to a major workload at the position.

Plus, more often than not, running back can feel like the most interchangeable position in the sport. Every year there’s an Isiah Pacheco who comes out of the seventh round as a rookie and leads his backfield. With so many options populating the market, it’s hard for a player like Jacobs or Barkley to gain any leverage in contract negotiations.

And yet… Jacobs was statistically the best player at his position and he still can’t sniff long-term guarantees from Las Vegas. Barkley is in the same tier and he basically had to settle for a one-year compromise to avoid holding out of training camp for the Giants, a team that built its offense around Barkley’s power run game last season. The Raiders are probably going to lean on the run more than ever with Jimmy Garoppolo taking over for Derek Carr at QB, and yet… no contract for Jacobs.

A long-term extension is out the window. Jacobs can either sign his franchise tag, make a Barkley-style one-year compromise, or stay away from the team. The Giants’ creative use of incentives to satisfy Barkley could provide the blueprint for Las Vegas and Jacobs to find common ground, but that’s terrible news for running backs around the league. If the best backs can barely beat the franchise tag, it’s hard to imagine any running back getting a long-term, big-money extension in the foreseeable future.

Chargers lead rusher Austin Ekeler recently held a Zoom meeting with top running backs to discuss the depreciating market. It’s a genuine crisis for players at the position who are central to their team’s success, yet viewed as entirely expendable. With Barkley conceding to New York and Jacobs heading for a similarly deflating resolution with Vegas, it’s a problem without an immediately evident solution.