After the Raiders started Josh Jacobs at running back in the Hall of Fame Game, head coach Josh McDaniels said that the veteran was in the lineup because it is “good for backs to carry the ball in the preseason.”
Jacobs wasn’t the only projected starter to be on the field for the Raiders, but his presence drew a little more attention and a little more speculation about the possibility that the Raiders might have been showcasing him for a potential trade. On Monday, McDaniels told reporters that trading Jacobs isn’t something the team is planning to do.
“JJ’s a guy we know what he’s done. We have a lot of confidence in JJ. He did well with his opportunities. We have no desire to do that at all,” McDaniels said, via Anthony Galaviz of the Fresno Bee.
As we’ve seen from teams that express no intention in trading a player before trading that player, things said publicly can disguise behind what the team is thinking about doing in private. The coming weeks will show whether that’s the case with the Raiders and Jacobs.