Raiders News: Ashton Jeanty Paid Daniel Carlson Huge Sum To Get No. 2

The Las Vegas Raiders expect first-round pick Ashton Jeanty to boost the team’s offense significantly this season. The running back put forth one of the best seasons by a back in college football history, and he plans on experiencing some of that same success that he had at Boise State in Las Vegas.

Jeanty’s jersey number will also remain the same. He will continue wearing the No. 2 jersey he wore in college. But keeping that number was no easy task, as it was held by two-time All-Pro kicker Daniel Carlson.

In a recent interview, Jeanty revealed that Raiders’ equipment manager Bob Romanski informed him about the jersey situation and ultimately provided Jeanty with Carlson’s cell phone number, after which Jeanty called and negotiated a figure to make it happen, via John Breech of CBS Sports:

“I called him and I’m like, ‘I’m trying to get that No. 2. I’m willing to negotiate whatever you’re thinking,’” Jeanty said. “I gave him what I was thinking first, then he came back and I’m like, ‘I gotta do it. I got to drop that little bag for No. 2.”

While Jeanty didn’t provide the exact figure, he did say that with the amount he paid Carlson, you could buy “a nice Mercedes GLE,” and those run anywhere from around $60,000 to nearly $100,000, so this was not a cheap deal for the Raiders rookie.

But Jeanty was willing to pay whatever he needed to, as this number meant a lot to him and his family:

“I’ve worn it the majority of my career,” Jeanty said. “It’s the day greatness was born, the day I was born: December 2. It’s a family number. All my family members who played sports, they wore No. 2.”

Jeanty has the number he wanted, and the Raiders are setting it up for him to make an immediate impact once he takes the field in silver and black. There will be a lot of pressure on the Heisman Trophy runner-up to deliver, but he is ready to help take this franchise to another level.

Raiders OC Chip Kelly wants Ashton Jeanty to change his pre-snap stance

Something that apparently won’t be remaining from Ashton Jeanty’s Boise State days is his famous pre-snap stance in which he stands straight up in the backfield prior to the ball being hiked. It has drawn comparisons to horror movie villain Michael Myers, but Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly wants Jeanty to change it.

The rookie discussed this recently, revealing that Kelly convinced him to adopt a more traditional squatting stance. While he hopes to one day return to Michael Myers’ stance, he is willing to do what his coaches ask of him.