Raiders lock up RG Jackson to extension
ALAMEDA — Reggie McKenzie crossed another item off his offseason to-do list Thursday, with the Raiders and right guard Gabe Jackson reportedly agreeing to a contract extension.
The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the deal is worth $56 million over five years, which would make him the third-highest paid offensive guard in the NFL, one spot behind teammate Kelechi Osemele. ESPN, though, reported it’s four years and $40 million tacked on to this season, which is the final year of his rookie contract, and that $26 million is guaranteed. Either way, he’s going to be among the league’s highest paid guards.
Jackson was part of McKenzie’s excellent 2014 draft class that netted the Raiders’ Khalil Mack in the first round and quarterback Derek Carr in the second. Jackson came a round later out of Mississippi State and has started 44 games over his first three seasons on the league.
The Raiders signed Carr last week to a five-year extension that makes him the league’s highest-paid player at an average of $25 million. With Jackson in place, the Raiders are ex-
pected to wait until next offseason to sign Mack to a long-term extension.
The reigning defensive player of the year had his fifth-year option picked up — something available only to first-round picks — so Mack is locked up through 2018. While an extension in the coming year is likely, the Raiders would also have the ability to use the franchise tag on Mack in 2019 if it reached that point.
The Raiders had placed a priority on getting Jackson signed despite giving out big money deals the past two years to Osemele and center Rodney Hudson. McKenzie said at last week’s news conference to announce Carr’s deal that Jackson was his next order of business, and he wasted no time.
Jackson spent the 2016 season successfully transitioning to right guard after last year’s signing of Osemele. Both players were among the league’s four guards who played at least 500 pass block snaps and did not allow a sack.
Jackson, like Carr, would’ve become an unrestricted free agent next offseason if the Raiders didn’t extend him. He was due to make a base salary of $1,797,000 for the 2017 season.