If the Raiders acquire Aaron Rodgers, Josh Jacobs would be more willing to sacrifice a long-term deal and play on the franchise tag.
“I feel like that would change a lot of dynamics for me,” Jacobs told CBS Sports’ Zach Gelb.”Especially with just like contract talks and everything. I feel like when you bring certain guys in the building, you’re willing to do things a little differently.”
Per Oddschecker, the Raiders are the favorites to land Rodgers in a trade. However, they must make cap space for the Packers QB, who has two years remaining on his contract and $59.5M guaranteed in 2023, according to Over the Cap.
According to Spotrac, the Raiders have $17.5M in cap space, which is tight if you want to add an expensive franchise QB.
Releasing or trading Derek Carr before Feb.15 frees $29.3M in cap room, creating space for Rodgers but not enough to give Jacobs, a free agent, a multi-year contract.
Jacobs’ market value is a four-year deal with $12.8M in annual salary, per Spotrac, while playing under the franchise tag is a one-year deal with $10.1M in salary.
Although Jacobs wants to remain with Las Vegas, he seems less enthusiastic about a shorter deal with less money.
“For me, this is where I want to be, but I’m not going to discredit myself to be here, either. So, it’s just gotta make sense,” Jacobs told The Atheltic’s Tashan Reed.
If he returns next season, going all in on Rodgers would make sense because it forms a high-powered offense featuring 2022’s rushing leader (Jacobs), 2022’s receiving-TDs leader (Davante Adams) and a four-time MVP (Rodgers).
