The Khalil Mack trade came together for one primary reason last August. The Oakland Raiders grew tired of his contract holdout. Rather than continue working towards a new deal, head coach Jon Gruden decided to light the fuse on a trade. After some deliberating, one was struck with the Chicago Bears which included two 1st round picks, one in 2019 and one in 2020.
They though their headaches were behind them. Apparently, they forgot the football gods have a sense of humor.
Oakland ended up with the 24th pick in the draft this past April after the Bears went 12-4. They used that selection on Alabama running back Josh Jacobs. While definitely the most talented at his position in the class, he also comes with a degree of uncertainty. He was never the starter for his team in college, so there's a lot of projecting involved with that pick.
One can imagine the Raiders brass cringed when it started to become clear that selection was already giving them problems. It would seem they've run into the exact same problem they had with Mack a year ago.
Khalil Mack trade did nothing to solve Raiders negotiation problems
Raiders beat writer Vic Tafur of The Athletic reported that Jacobs is the one of their three 1st round picks who have yet to sign his rookie contract. To make matters worse, it sounds like the negotiations aren't making much progress. So much that a holdout is becoming more likely.
"Running back Josh Jacobs, one of the team’s three first-round picks in April, is the only Raiders draft pick still unsigned and league sources say the negotiations have not been going well. There is a growing sentiment that Jacobs will not be at camp when rookies report on July 23. (The official start of camp — when the veterans report — is three days later.)
Rookie holdouts are rare in the NFL these days after the installment of a rookie wage scale, since contract values and signing bonuses are predetermined. But there is still wiggle room regarding the payment schedule of the signing bonus and whether salary guarantees will have offsets. The bonus issue is apparently the hangup between Jacobs and the Raiders."
It's almost impossible not to sense the irony here. The Raiders thought they got rid of a headache in Mack because of his contract standoff. Now they've used the pick they got for him on a young player who is doing the exact same thing. It certainly isn't a good omen for where things may go in the future. Not to mention it's another sign that the Raiders have a lingering problem when it comes to handling contract issues.
