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LOOK: Josh Jacobs honors Pat Tillman with custom cleats

James Fletcher IIIby:James Fletcher III•11/14/21•

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Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs unveiled a special pair of Pat Tillman cleats for Sunday night’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. As the league celebrates Veteran’s Day weekend, players and staff have worn camouflage trimmings on their gear, but Jacobs took things to another level.

Pat Tillman, honored on Jacobs’ cleats, played in the NFL from 1998-2001 after a Hall of Fame college career at Arizona State. He was also named an All-Pro in 2000. However, he chose to walk away from football in favor of a military career after witnessing the impact of Sept. 11, 2001. His No. 40 Cardinals jersey and No. 42 Arizona State jersey are both retired.

Tillman enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2002, after turning down a $3.6 million contract from the Cardinals. Along with his brother, Pat Tillman served as Army Rangers in Afghanistan. He was killed in the line of duty on Apr. 22, 2004 and was posthumously awarded the Silver Star Citation and also the Purple Heart.

More about Josh Jacobs

Las Vegas Raiders running back and former Alabama football star Josh Jacobs was homeless in middle school. He later emerged as a three-star prospect in high school. Jacobs helped lead Alabama to a national championship win in 2017 before going No. 24 in the 2019 NFL Draft.

He has run for 3,028 all-purpose yards over the first two and a half years, with 24 touchdowns. He also emerged as the Raiders’ feature back with fellow Alabama alum Kenyan Drake backing him up.

Former Raiders coach suing NFL

Former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is suing the NFL in addition to commissioner Rodger Goodell. This according to a report that was published on Friday afternoon.

“Through a malicious and orchestrated campaign, the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell sought to destroy the career and reputation of Jon Gruden, the former head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders,” the lawsuit stated.

With limited information released in the initial report, the lawsuit also states the NFL took countless steps to ensure Gruden’s departure. On Friday, Adam Hosmer-Henner, the attorney representing Gruden at McDonald Carano, issued a statement.

“Jon Gruden has filed suit against the National Football League and Comissioner Goodell in the Eighth Judicial Court in Clark County, Nevada. The complaint alledges that the defendants selectively leaked Gruden’s private correspondence to the Wall Street Journal and New York Times in order to harm Gruden’s reputation and force him out of his job. There is no explanation or justification for why Gruden’s mails were the only ones made public out of the 650,000 emails collected in the NFL’s investigation of the Washington Football Team or why the emails were held for months before being released in the middle of the Raiders’ season.”