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          NFL Nation

          'Fresher' Josh Jacobs ready for big workload for Raiders in Week 1

          • Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff WriterSep 8, 2023, 10:00 AM
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              Paul Gutierrez joined NFL Nation in 2013 and serves as its Las Vegas Raiders reporter. He has a multi-platform role - writing on ESPN.com, television appearances on NFL Live and SportsCenter, and podcast and radio appearances. Before coming to ESPN, Gutierrez spent three years at CSN Bay Area as a multi-platform reporter, covering the Raiders and Oakland Athletics as well as anchoring the SportsNet Central cable news show. Gutierrez votes for the Baseball Hall of Fame and is also a member of the Professional Football Writers of America and currently serves as the PFWA's Las Vegas chapter president. He is also a member of the California Chicano News Media Association and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Gutierrez has authored three books: Tommy Davis' Tales from the Dodgers Dugout, 100 Things Raiders Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die and If These Walls Could Talk: Stories from the Raiders Sideline, Locker Room and Press Box with Lincoln Kennedy. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PGutierrezESPN
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          HENDERSON, Nev. -- There is always a fine line between rest and rust, and when it comes to All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs, he's ready to run through it come Sunday's season opener at the Denver Broncos (4:25 p.m. ET, Empower Field at Mile High, CBS).

          Especially since he sat out the entirety of the Las Vegas Raiders' offseason program, training camp and exhibition season in a contact stalemate and has yet to take an angry hit in pads, returning to the team Aug. 26 and only going through a few practices since.

          "I mean, for me, less hits is better," Jacobs said Thursday. "I get hit enough, you know what I'm saying? But I mean, man, I came back at the same weight I played at last year and I look bigger. I added muscle, so I think I'm in a good position."

          Meaning, the 5-foot-10, 223-pounder believes he is ready for his normal workload, despite missing so much time this offseason. But is he? After all, there is a difference between being in fine physical shape and good football shape.

          "Yeah, I mean, if anything, I feel fresher than most people in this locker room," Jacobs laughed.

          Jacobs has feasted on the Broncos in his career, rushing for a combined 721 yards and nine touchdowns on 154 carries (4.7 yards per carry) along with 15 catches for 158 yards.

          Plus, the Raiders have never lost to their AFC West rivals when Jacobs has played, going 7-0.

          "I've seen a little bit of it," Jacobs said of his statistical success against Denver. "But at the end of the day, they got a new head coach [in Sean Payton]. They got a new philosophy up there. They got a new DC [defensive coordinator Vance Joseph]. You don't know what they're coming with. So, for me, man, I'm just going to go out there and just try to play my game."

          Jacobs, who did not sign his $10.091 million franchise tag by the July 17 deadline and stayed away from the team, has been a positive influence in the Raiders' locker room since returning on an adjusted one-year deal worth up to $12 million with per game bonuses.

          "I mean, I've noticed it in my mood, other guys' moods," All-Pro receiver Davante Adams said of the positive effect of Jacobs' return.

          "Just having a key piece of your football team around, it's going to naturally boost everybody's mood, their willingness to come to work. Everybody's been coming to work and it's been the same as it was last year, but it's a little bit more fire when you get one of your guys back and get a guy like Josh back, who is a captain, a leader of this football team. It kind of, like I said, gives the team a little extra juice."

          Said Jacobs: "I mean, I make sure I go out my way to speak to every guy in this building. I mean, from the people working here [to the players and staff], that's just how I was raised. But not only that, I feel like when I'm in a game I can make a lot of people's job a lot easier so, they'll like that."

          New quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, meanwhile, has been getting used to handing the ball off to Jacobs, who led the NFL in rushing yards (1,653), yards from scrimmage (2,053) and touches (393) last season.

          "It's just about getting the reps in," Garoppolo said. "Josh knows all this stuff already, being here last year ... but just getting on the same page with him, a couple of swing routes, check-down routes, things like that, we're trying to get on the same page.

          "With the run game, I mean he's as good as they come, so it makes my job pretty easy."

          Jacobs, though, is on a roster exemption/commissioner permission list and the Raiders will have to make a move to get him on their 53-man roster before the game at Denver. Moving on from edge rusher Chandler Jones, who said earlier this week he no longer wanted to play for Las Vegas, could be one way to make room for Jacobs.

          And while Jacobs said he has no personal goals -- though he does want a receiving touchdown for the first time in his career -- he is more focused on the team aspect on the eve of the season.

          "I spoke to a lot of the guys about that in the locker room -- since I've been here, I've only had one winning season," he said. "So, really, all the individual accolades don't really mean nothing if you don't win. That's my main focus this year is to win, with everything [the Super Bowl] being here this year, I want to be in them conversations towards the end of the season."