Oakland Raiders running back Josh Jacobs managed to play through a lingering shoulder injury to make sure he was part of the final home game at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum this past Sunday.
Not only did Jacobs play, but he resumed his usual role as the central force of the offense. Head coach Jon Gruden was not shy about giving him his usual workload after tallying 109 scrimmage yards on 26 touches.
Unfortunately, it was not enough for Oakland to secure the victory after the Jacksonville Jaguars escaped with a clutch 20-16 victory. Regardless, it seems Jacobs has no regrets about playing.
Jacobs took to Twitter to reveal his reason for playing and apologized for the team coming up short:
I only played for the city sorry we fell short
— Josh Jacobs (@iAM_JoshJacobs) December 16, 2019
Gruden added that he was proud of his team and Jacobs’ willingness to step up and play through injury, via Kyle Martin of the team’s official website:
“I can’t say enough about the guts of our team,” Head Coach Jon Gruden said postgame. “We’ve been through a lot. It’s been a really fun season to see some of these young players grow up. We’ve lost several of them, unfortunately, but Jacobs is the real deal, and he’s going to get better.”
Gruden has since ruled Jacobs out for the team’s Week 16 game against the Los Angeles Chargers. He would not say if the rookie will play again this season, but he made it a point to praise him the toughness he showed by playing against Jacksonville, via Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area Newspaper Group:
Raiders Gruden said Josh Jacobs had trouble getting shoulder pads off yesterday and status for rest of season will be in question. ‘I’ve coached a long time and I’ve had really tough backs. Really tough guys. And he is up there at the top of the food chain,’ Gruden said.
— Jerry McDonald (@Jerrymcd) December 16, 2019
Gruden has done what he can to try and take an optimistic approach to the Raiders’ shortcomings in the 2019 NFL season. It is no secret that this team has endured its fair share of trials and tribulations throughout the year that played a huge part in them falling short of expectations.
Regardless, every team in the league has had to overcome substantial injuries in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. It appeared as though the Raiders were poised to emerge as a darkhorse playoff candidate until they fizzled out following a hot start to the year.
Gruden can at least take solace in the fact that he will be taking a healthy crop of young talent with him to Las Vegas. Of course, any resurgence that may occur in the years to come will likely be sparked by their very own frontrunner for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Jacobs has established himself as a bonafide workhorse thanks to his versatile skill set out of the backfield. More importantly, his toughness and team-first mentality should pay huge dividends when it comes to building a strong culture in the locker room.
It is for these reasons that Gruden will likely want to take a cautious approach with Jacobs over the final two games to ensure that the shoulder injury is not further aggravated going into the offseason.
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