NFL Free Agency: Las Vegas Raiders reportedly officially franchise tag Josh Jacobs

Josh Jacobs has been a phenom at times throughout his NFL career, and he now knows where his talent will take him. After showing out for the Las Vegas Raiders, the former first round pick will be franchise tagged by the team, according to Ian Rapoport. This comes just a few days after it was reported this could be the way things were headed between the two sides.

Moreover, the Raiders made Jacobs’ dream come true during the 2019 NFL Draft, when the former Alabama star was selected No. 24 overall. His running prowess with the Crimson Tide led him to the moment, as Jacobs starred to the tune of 1,491 rushing yards, 571 receiving yards and 21 total touchdowns over three seasons.

He made an immediate impact on the Raiders his rookie season, amassing 1,150 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. Jacobs would pass the thousand yard mark three out of his four NFL seasons thus far, including leading the league in rushing this past season.

Jacobs became the NFL’s rushing king with 1,653 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns over the 2022 season. It set the stage for him to have a major payday this offseason, which he’s feeling at the moment. The future is more than bright for the former Alabama star.

More on the 2023 NFL offseason, free agency

The NFL 2023 calendar year is set to begin at 4 p.m. ET on March 15 when contracts running through 2022 will officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 7. Beginning March 13 through March 15 teams will be allowed a legal negotiation with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents.

In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 21 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets while April 26 marks the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets. 722 players are slated to become free agents in 2023.

More on restricted, exclusive rights free agents

Players with only three years of accredited NFL experience become restricted free agents. Their original team will have the option to apply first-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders on players at escalating price tags. The higher the round, the more expensive the tender amount; however, if a separate team does offer a contract and the original team does not match that round pick will be conveyed from the new team to the original team. Right of first refusal only gives a team the option to match or not. If they don’t match, they get nothing in return. An original-round tender would send a draft pick from whatever round the player was drafted back to the original team if they chose not to match. The original team will have five days to match once a player signs an offer sheet from a new team.