You’re tired of reading it. I’m tired of writing it. We’re all tired. But the fact of the matter is the topic of Lamar Jackson hangs over Baltimore like a dark cloud and this stalemate between him and the team has the potential to hold the Ravens hostage in 2023.
There are a number of ways this could go. You all know the drill. Lamar will either sign an extension; get tagged and subsequently traded; play the 2023 season under the franchise tag; OR…he could sit out the season as suggested by Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
An extension seems unlikely any time in the near future – certainly not by the tag deadline of March 7. The sides have been going at it off and on for two seasons, with no resolution in sight. So the tag is a near certainty. The only question is, “which tag?” Exclusive or non-exclusive. The exclusive tag carries a price tag of $45.2M for now. The non-exclusive tag weighs in at a cost of $32.4M.
With the exclusive tag, the Ravens control Lamar’s immediate future. No other team can negotiate with him and any trade is contingent upon a package that consists of draft capital and/or players that satisfy the Ravens, along with Lamar agreeing to terms on a new deal with a new team. The non-exclusive carries a degree of risk – risk that I believe forces the Ravens to use the exclusive tag.
Previously I had written that the non-exclusive tag could be the way to go. Since the Ravens and Lamar can’t agree on a contract that both sides deem as fair, why not let the market dictate his value? Once Lamar is ready to offer his services to the highest bidder the Ravens have the right to match the offer or accept two first-round picks in exchange. After further consideration, I’ve waffled on that idea. And here’s why…
Let’s assume that a team interested in Lamar sits at the lower third of the first round and they offer the 2019 NFL MVP the fully guaranteed deal that he covets. Let’s also assume the interested club includes a roster bonus in Year 1 that drives up the cap hit in 2023 to a level that is completely out of reach for the Ravens, unless they execute an extreme roster purge and convert salary of their highest paid players into bonuses to lighten the cap load in 2023.
In this scenario, the Ravens might be painted into a corner and be forced to accept the two No. 1’s – one of which may be a pick that isn’t much better, if at all, then their own pick at 22. It stands to reason that the team acquiring Lamar would improve and therefore have an even less attractive first-round pick in 2024, the present value of which could be viewed as an early second-round pick. Hardly attractive, right?
Given these risks, the non-exclusive is probably out for the Ravens.
Shifting to the exclusive tag which carries the weight of $45.2M, the Ravens will still have to get out their surgical blade to do a little nip/tuck to their salary cap given that they currently sit $26.5M in cap space. Besides Lamar’s tag, they’ll eventually need to create space for:
1) practice squad players;
2) their rookie class (estimated at $6.4M); and
3) a rainy day fund of $5-6M for in-season roster additions to accommodate injuries and/or trades.
Cap space could be created with restructures and/or extensions for Mark Andrews, Calais Campbell, Kevin Zeitler, to name a few. The team could also create cap space by parting ways with players like Chuck Clark, Gus Edwards, Michael Pierce and Devin Duvernay, either by trade or outright release.
And none of the current $26.5M in cap space includes any potential spending for offseason trades or free agent signings in order to repair the team’s substandard wide receiver room that the club has vowed to upgrade.
Making matters even more challenging, if the Ravens do use either franchise tag, Lamar doesn’t have to report to OTA’s, training camp or the preseason. Clearly not an ideal situation given that the Ravens will be installing a new offensive system under recently hired offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
And what if Lamar says, “Screw the exclusive tag, I’m skipping 2023!”
In this case, the $45.2M will sit on the Ravens cap until the season begins. The team would then receive cap relief each week of the regular season in the amount of 1/18th of the $45.2M (roughly $2.5M per week). Should the Ravens apply the tag to Lamar again in 2024, the cost of the tag would be 120% of this year’s tag number ($38.9M for non-exclusive; $54.2M for exclusive) or the tag numbers set by the league in 2024, whichever is greater.
All of this probably leaves you wondering why the two sides can’t come together and reach an agreement with so much at stake. Blame the absence of representation for Lamar. Therein lies the culprit.
At the top end of the wage scale, agents earn roughly 3% when orchestrating a new deal for a client/player. Not only do the agents remove the clutter and pain of structuring a new contract for their clients, they also serve as a buffer and separate their client from any negative conversations that might undermine the relationship between the player and the team. Plus, agents can uncover endorsement opportunities for their clients, providing incremental income which could serve to subsidize the agent’s fee and then some.
I’ve been told that in Lamar’s case, agents are willing to work for as little as 1% simply to have the opportunity to work with the Ravens franchise QB and add him to their roster of clients. The challenge for these agents, unfortunately, is that Lamar already has an agent working for 0% — the NFLPA.
DeMaurice Smith, the Executive Director of the NFLPA, sat down with Ryan Clark on The Pivot podcast about a month ago, and discussed many things, including Lamar’s contract situation. Here are a few excerpts from that discussion.
Being Watson’s “Bookend”
“If you don’t understand the role of free agent players, and guaranteeing contracts throughout sport, you miss the fact that this is a pivotal moment, because right behind Lamar, think about the number of quarterbacks coming up behind [him]. We saw them last night, we saw them play this weekend. We saw one play in the Super Bowl last year. Guys are coming behind him on those free agent contracts, so literally the weight of whether we move forward on guarantee contracts now… you’ve got the Watson contract. Literally that could be book-ended by Lamar’s contract.”
Preventing Owners Collusion
“Lamar has The full weight of the NFLPA, all of our resources, and we will stay in contact with him about those contracts because you know a bad contract for one person, [is a bad contract for] everybody. We’re gonna make sure that we do our best to ensure that there isn’t collusion by the owners to prevent that.”
Player Collusion
“[It’s not] against the law if the five quarterbacks got together and decided none of us are going to sign a contract unless it has this, this and this…One year [defensive backs decided] that I’m not gonna sign anything that doesn’t have a two and a zero guaranteed and by the way, if he doesn’t get the contract, none of us are showing up for camp. Perfectly legal, but it’s hard right, because we’ve gone through that in the history of our union. [We] try to get that done and just like the Super Bowl press conference, it only takes one guy who signed the contract and the other five guys are going [what?]. If it’s successful, the reason why the owners fight it so hard, [we] just need to be successful once.”
Watch and listen for yourself. The body language. The passion with which Smith speaks; the disdain he holds for the owners. If you don’t think for a minute that Lamar is a pawn in Smith’s agenda, then maybe you believe the Cleveland Browns are a well-run organization.
I feel for Lamar. I feel for the Ravens. I feel for the fans.
Because at the end of the day, DeMaurice Smith and the NFLPA don’t give a rat’s ass about the fans. They don’t care about the sport. They just care about winning this particular battle against the owners and in the crosshairs of it all are Eric DeCosta, John Harbaugh, Lamar, his teammates all of you reading this, and arguably the sport as we know it.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that dark cloud, this hostage situation, is going nowhere unless Lamar takes it upon himself to do what is best for him and his family. Not all of the quarterbacks that come after him.
And something tells me, that ain’t happening…
66 Responses
Sorry, but he’s not worth it! In fact, I can’t think of an athlete who….is!
Sorry Armchair, I meant to give you a thumbs UP, not down. Agree 100%. Almost this angst and stress over a guy that’s not even that good. He’s not worth it!!
Agree 100% … all this angst over this guy. He’s not worth it!!
Agree! Let somebody else have this headache…..
The Ravens need to end this dog and pony show ASAP. It appears that Lamar and the Ravens have drawn a line in the sand. Trade him for some draft picks and a wide receiver or DB and move on. The franchise will survive Lamar’s departure just fine. After all, how many playoff wins and Super Bowl titles has Lamar brought to the Ravens. See you Lamar. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.
⬆️ This is the way ⬆️
There is no guarantee another team would give Lamar what he wants, either – which means the Ravens may get stuck with $45 cap hit, which, to me, is the worst possible scenario. I would love to get a bunch of picks for him, but that might not be in the cards. I would rather let him hit the streets than cripple the team next year or the year after.
I fear that Smith and the NFLPA have encouraged Lamar to take door #3. Show up just before week 10 and make approximately $21M for seven weeks and no camp. The Ravens would get the weekly pro rata cap relief but probably couldn’t use it efficiently to strengthen the roster because FAs have already been signed. Maybe we could make a trade or two but Lamar would get a full year of service time under the tag and command $54M on a second tag. Two low 1st rounders pre-draft may look not so bad compared to this scorched earth scenario.
I watched a You Tube video about a month ago with several recently retired NFL players. What stood out on this one was all these players advocated gauranteed money and also wanted a 5 million dollar a year minimum salary for all vested veterans over 5 years. They said that the players should strike with no notice just before a Sunday game to cripple the league. This is the thought process today. This will be the next CBA strike you can bet on it.
lamar has been bigger than the team
nuff said
Exactly our point that Lamar’s not acting with the T.E.A.M in mind. Totally a narcissist that’s being played by others
Tyler Huntley QB1
It’s time to move on. This circus is ridiculous. He’s injury prone and, let’s face it, not smart. Everyone can say what they want, but anyone who attempts to negotiate potentially the largest contract in NFL history using their Mom is not an intelligent person.
And using the NFLPA as an agent is not a good move either. They have their own agenda and it may not be in Lamar’s best interest.
Very sad but realistic article. If I were negotiating a contract I would give lamar a final offer, give a final date for him to reply someday before March 7 to determine what tag to place on him if any. At some point you have to admit to yourself that this isn’t going to happen and make the best out of a bad situation.
In a salary cap world, fully guaranteed deals hurt the team, which in turn… it really hurts the fans. We love our team no matter what, but when a player on a fully guaranteed contract rolls the dice, and gambles on their health in such a violent sport, if they are injured the teams cap is ruined and has no likely chance to compete. If this is the future that the NFLPA, Smith, and maybe Lamar want, then goodbye. No thanks. DeCosta will sign the exclusive tag if he has any inclination that a team will offer a fully guaranteed and facilitate a trade. If not, the non-exclusive tag is signed and let Lamar see what the market sets.
Finally need to comment. So tired of seeing the Lamar bashing in the comment section. Well written Tony. Lamar is the most talented QB to ever play for this team. Period. Spare me the injury and playoff record nonsense. He’s also box office. And that matters too. He’s also a winner with a 70% win rate as a starter. The fact he doesn’t have an agent is unfortunate. Here’s what I think happens-Hurts and Burrow will reset the market this off-season with their deals. Those deals will not be fully guaranteed. Lamar will then sign a deal slotted around those.
Maybe Tony can help clarify but Hurts, Burrow, et al don’t have a March 7 deadline for contracts. And there are two schools of thought whether it’s better for those guys to wait or sign early. Meanwhile, the Ravens need to tag by March 7. I suppose you could do the exclusive tag, then continue waiting to see if another QB makes a move – for better or possibly for worse. Heck, they could all collude and refuse to sign unless everybody gets guaranteed money.
The March 7 deadline is for the franchise tag. It must be extended by them. The value of that tag could change if for example Dak Prescott, one of the five highest paid QB’s, takes a pay cut or restructures his deal to help the Cowboys and his scheduled 2023 pay is lowered. Prescott has suggested that he would be open to such an alteration. That would work in the Ravens favor. But to your point, there is no deadline for Dak, in this example, to adjust his deal before March 7. That said, it behooves the Ravens to wait, just in case.
Been thinking the same about De. Smith and the NFLPA’s role. Question ultimately comes down to what Lamar wants. Does he want to maximize his salary or take less and try to win with the Ravens or another team?
Broken record. Nothing new. Redundant and somewhat biased. There is no right or wrong. Just differing opinions and beliefs. Bisciotti isn’t going broke any time soon. Lamar won’t be playing forever. If it’s that bad, he gets traded. If not, he stays.
Get over the same old same old and just wait for an outcome.
Tag and Trade seems like the obvious outcome. The Ravens cannot play him on the Exclusive Tag because: the Cap would be a disaster; Lamar could skip workouts and Preseason; he could have a major attitude problem and use any injury or illness as an excuse to sit out since he has no future security.
Tony: My questions are, if Lamar refuses to sign the Tag after a Trade has been worked out does that give him the power to control the situation? And, as part of any Trade, doesn’t the team acquiring Lamar have to be able to negotiate with him in advance?
A trade after the exclusive tag is applied needs to be preceded by a contract that Lamar agrees to with the acquiring team. If he refuses to play, the Ravens cap will benefit 1/18th of his cap number each week he misses. The team would still be able to tag him the following season at 120% of this year’s tag number ($54.24M).
I’m actually at the point where I wish Ozzie didn’t trade away those picks back then to trade up for this guy. I wish he had used those picks to help build this TEAM. Not using them to pick this self centered, egotistical player who is grossly overrating his abilities. And who is fragmenting his teams’ great fan base btw. I’ll always be a Ravens fan… but I don’t care if we win 5 SBs with Jackson ( which I have no fear of happening) I will never be a LJ fan again.
The best article I have read about Lamar’s contract situation. Watch players (current and former) talk about Lamar’s situation on NFL Network and ESPN. They leave no ambiguity that Lamar is their soldier leading them to the promised land of guaranteed contracts for the benefit of other players coming after him. They talk as if the Ravens have no choice but to give Lamar $250 million plus, all guaranteed. Lamar has fallen for this hook, line and sinker. I doubt he budges one bit. The Ravens need to draft a qb in this year’s draft to have any hope of salvaging the next couple of seasons. Or sign a cheap bridge qb like Mayfield, Stidham or Brissett. I doubt Lamar plays at all this season. If he does play, does anyone have confidence he will play the entire season given the way he acted at the end of this past season.
If someone paid me what he’s already made the last 5 years to play I would run through a wall.
Honestly, I don’t really give a flyin’ ………..well, let’s just say my interest has waned.
If that’s the aim of the NFLPA, I’d say they’re acting to benefit a few marquee QBs. Most of the rest of the players don’t have the leverage to demand a contract fully guaranteed at signing. The clubs will move them along.
I’m more of s Ravens fan than a Jackson fan. He’s already failed to keep the 1 promise that matters to me. On draft night, he was asked (not a quote) …what are the Ravens getting with you Lamar ?
His answer ……..A Super Bowl, I’m going to give them a Super Bowl.
Well that was years ago, ancient history, and he never got close. In my eyes, he’ll just be another human who can’t keep his promises. The Baltimore Ravens will survive the loss of Jackson, and will probably become a much better overall team in the process.
I want a different head coach too. I’m tired of this era.
Ain’t no hostage situation gtfo here I’m sick of you clowns writing bs trying to slander Lamar when he’s done nothing wrong. Lamar better than me because I would REALLY give y’all punk mfs a reason to hate me.
No slander involved. Lamar thinks he’s worth a fully guarantied contract and the Ravens don’t. Even Mahomes didn’t sniff that and he is a way better QB than Lamar. No agent and leaning on the NFLPA has been a bad move on his part.
Lamar’s punk azz can’t stay healthy it’s that simple. Plus his “illness” issues crazy too.
I didn’t care for you, as soon as I finished your first sentence. If you can even call it a sentence. Go back to your mom’s basement little gamer. No one cares what you have to say. Clean your handgun or something constructive and keep your uneducated mind off the comments
Spoken like a true adult …
I really don’t think it’s as complicated as it looks Tony. Not to deny all your great information. But it’s a gamble either way. A poker hand. And the play is clear: non-exclusive, test the market, and move on if the gamble doesn’t work.
The non-Exclusive Tag takes leverage away from the Ravens. They won’t go there.
I see testing the market as a kind of leverage. And with an exclusive they have less chance of affording a FA wide receiver, keeping valuable players, etc, And Lamar can still hold out during preseason. Hardly a winning hand either way, but I’d still rather go non-exclusive. If I lose leverage and have to walk away, so be it. Rather that than drag the thing into next season.
I thought the same initially but after further review and discussion with others smarter than me on the topic, I respectfully disagree. Yes, I’ve flopped on the topic…
Hurts, Borrow, and Herbert are better than Lamar Jackson in my opinion and if they don’t get fully guaranteed contracts the Ravens can’t justify giving Lamar Jackson one so trade him for picks and keep it moving
@
Guaranteed contracts are coming. If not Lamar, then Joe B., or Hurts, or Mahomes the next time around. I see Lamar as more of a leader in this movement than a hostage (and it’s an insult to call him that). The owners are swimming in money; he should be paid.
Guy can’t stay healthy. Plus as Father Time continues expect Lamar to get less athletic. No brainer is for the Ravens to stick to your guns.
Joe B and Hurts reportedly aren’t getting FULLY GUARANTEED money
Lamar Jackson wants a guaranteed contract. The owners are openly colluding to stop all players from receiving them. Articles such as this is used to amplify the owners stance without them having to say a word. Having talking heads on tv and writing articles to doubt a players worth. NFL players are not paid to attend any off-season team activity. The only reason Damar Hamblin is getting paid because the players agreed to play the 17th game for free. No disrespect to the writer but he’s getting paid to talk about it.
Agreed with your assessment that the owners are fighting this by proxy – the fans. What is communicated is that – one will not be able to field a quality team if they fully guarantee a contract in this case Lamar’s. So what are the levers to open the floodgates so all contracts are fully guaranteed and why shouldn’t they be. It goes back to the cap and what tv sponsorship pays. The sport will get more expensive to watch on field or on tv and will become more constrained in the viewership leading to the decline in viewers and the system will need to self correct all over again. I liken this to the subsidies on meat in this country. That $3 whopper actually probably costs $10 – who pays in the end – the taxpayer, the low paid wage worker leading to a less healthy product. So net net market dynamics dictate the price point be it the burger or a fully guaranteed elite quarterback and I argue – yes this is a proxy fight where both parties are hoping the other person blinks. Healthcare and stipend for nfl athletes and their families should be the norm with some better accounting of loss of income due to injury. It’s a flawed system… and browns will be the browns and how they do as a franchise over the next five years will be a case study.
Lamar is being used by the NFLPA and I expect the Ravens are very aware of it. Will the Falcons, Panthers or Raiders give a fully guaranteed deal? That and three #1’s plus some? The Ravens will certainly use the exclusive tag to control the trade destination, if it comes to that, and to get the appropriate value for Lamar. Hope the Ravens and Lamar come to an agreement but I’d expect a tag and trade!
Thought i read tag doesnt count against cap till Lamar signed it. Meanwhile all the owners are demanding Biscotti not give fully guaranteed so why not go non exclusive? He can trust them not to double cross right? Right?🤣🤣. Its obvious Lamar will not be on the tag for long. Ravens scared to death he wont show up til Sep 1 and will shut it down in December with imaginary injury
As soon as the Ravens tag Lamar that cap number ($32.4M for non-exclusive, $45.3M for exclusive) hits their cap. The must tag Lamar by March 7 but they team doesn’t have to be cap-compliant until March 15 when the new league year begins. The Ravens are currently $26.48M under the cap of $224.8M. I hope that helps.
And understand people Lamar is not holding out. He is unsigned. Yet lazy media will call it a hold out. Same lazy media that incorrectly reports J Harbaugh predicted 200% chance Lamar stays. Nope. He was asked if the Ravens still want Lamar. He said 200%
March 7th can’t get here fast enough. I’m excited to see what we get for him. Whatever it is, it has to be better than 1 playoff win in 5 seasons. Btw, when the says he wants a deal with guaranteed monet similar to what DeShaun Watson got, to clarify…he wants the guaranteed money there yeah but the contract he wants is 500 million over 5 seasons with 250 million guaranteed. 🙄
Does the ‘A’ in Steven A Smith really stand for @$$hat? And who is “Lamar’s Camp” – Lamar, his mother, DeMaurice Smith? Are DeMarice and the vast majority of sports reporters all dead wrong about the ‘guaranteed contract’? If it’s not that, then is $250M with $133M guaranteed really not enough for a player who has not finished a season in two years?
If this non-event has now morphed into a media war [can’t wait to hear what Skip Clueless thinks] it is time for Lamar to go before this splits the locker room and overshadows Monken’s development of a new system. It’s becoming unworkable.
If I had a vote, Lamar would sign that contract and stay. But I don’t get a vote and I lose hope he will sign in Baltimore. And if Lamar gets tagged he won’t be happy and probably will not play well, maybe not at all.
Honestly, I don’t see any owner OKing a guaranteed contract. They all seem to be uniformly furious with the Haslams for crashing the economics of football. How does one operate a business where any player gets paid whether he can/will play or not? How do you operate a team where you are paying 20% or more of cap to one player? How do you afford to put any talent around him?
In your heart you know that owners will not absorb the increase in cost of operation. Ticket costs will go up by an order of magnitude. And it all goes to Hell in a hand basket.
Stehen A*&wipe Smith I think. And this would be a time that I approve of a little “owner collusion”.
If I’m the owner, I have already written this one off. I don’t want nor need the drama from one employee. If we can get some draft picks, great. Otherwise, write this one off and let this be some other organization’s problem.
Yeah. Because in the long run there is a BIG difference between 50 million a season and 52.5 million a season. I am kidding. Fat stacks of cash are not enough? Take the money Lamar. Actually. Hit FA and see what happens. I would wish you luck.
Yes. I am so done.
All of this nonsense about 100’s of millions of dollars. Damn near everyone involved in this process is already ‘well enough’ to do. I could not imagine any ‘righteous’ player looking back on their career saying something like this…’ I made over a quarter billion dollars in my career although if I would have held out longer or made a bigger fuss of things I could have made a few EXTRA million dollars. I am so saddened by this and so for the rest of my life I will be wandering aimlessly wondering how different my life would have been if I had made 360 million instead of 310 million. WHOA IS ME! ‘ God likes that sh*t. Trust me. lol (I jest) God does not like that.
CHEERS! 🙂
Lost in all of this controversy is the FACT that the NFLPA’s position would cost fans more money in ticket prices, which are already……outrageous! The average ticket price for the SB was reported to be $6K in a neutral sight, so one has to wonder how long this insanity can continue! As I’ve cited elsewhere, a famous philosopher once stated, “Whom the Gods would destroy, they first make drunk with power”! Frankly, I believe we’ve reached that point already…..
I think that you and I are both close in the age demographic that helped build the league to what it is today. I agree with your premise. I really do not have a dog in this race but as a Baltimore fan since LBJ was the president I’d like to see it work out to benifit us the Baltimore fans. Right now the whole dynamic seems to be against that. My family where season ticket holders going back to the 50s along with all the USFL and CFL games during the dark ages. I sold out about 2015 and watch from home now. If the league ever goes pay per view I’m done if I’m still above ground. Just watch highlights on You Tube on Mondays but we are in the minority my friend.
I have a few years on you! My Dad took me to my first football game in 1947 to see the Baltimore Colts play the New York Yankees of the old All America Football conference and I’ve been a fan of Baltimore Football ever since! We became season ticket holders and from 1953 to 1983and I never missed a home game! In fact, my Dad was the team dentist from 1968 until their departure in 1983! We became PSL owners in 1996, but we stopped going to the games a few years ago when politics began to interfere! But, I still bleed Purple and watch all the games on TV! Pro football is no longer the great game I grew up watching and I’m convinced that it will die a slow death eventually for many of the reasons cited on this blog! So, I can empathize with you…..completely!
You saw the great Buddy Young in his prime! My dad always said the 1949 Browns where the best team he ever saw play and he was a diehard Colts fan. I never saw many of the players you saw but growing up in my house I got a history lesson on all the greats of the game 40s and 50s.
Thanks, Noah, and I enjoy yours as well! I also recall meeting Y.A. Tittle in 1948 at Bachrach Rasin sporting goods store and still have his autograph! In fact, I still have the football my Dad kept in his office that is signed by every player, coach, GM and owner he treated! And, I used go to Westminster with him in the summer and was privileged to meet many of the players personally! They were truly the good old days…..
The non-exlusive tag is career suicide for Decosta. He better add paper to his fax machine. In addition to all the obvious teams extending offers (Saints, Panthers, Bucs, Falcons, Jets, Raiders, Texans, etc) you would also be inviting all the yahoos who DON’T have a first round pick (nor two) to submit offers. That means the Niners and Rams from the NFC and the Dolphins from the AFC. Don’t worry fans, the Eagles and Chiefs will easily trade their first round picks to any of the three teams to prevent/enable Lamar entering the NFC.
As some point ther Ravens need to go on the offensive here because saying nothing looks like Stephen A was right.
Tony – Your overall comments are spot on but I think you need to be a little more inclusive with respect to the 3rd paragraph from the end of your article, Meaning – I agree with the comment – but I think you need to add Steve B / the other owners, and the business that is the NFL in terms of the rat’s ass and fans sentence. It’s all about the money -from all angles. Which is ok – but that door swings both ways. Example – We now have a 17 ‘real’ game schedule and Thursday night on Amazon Prime. Everyone in the country has that channel, right? Specifically on Lamar – time to move on(my opinion- Lamar’s not a team player). Trade for what you can get. I’m sensing (and this is where folks such as yourself and others who follow this much better and closer than I do can weigh in) that Eric and the gang are very open(desirous?) to a trade, But, no other team is actually offering anything near what the headlines suggest ( 3 #1’s, 2 #1’s+, etc.). And the Ravens , from a PR perspective, will never be able to sell the fan base on a trade for 1 #1, and a 3rd round pick in 2026. Lamar’s missed the last 1/3 of the last two seasons. In terms of NFL QB talent – from 1 to 32 starters – where does everyone thinks he actually ranks? Maybe just outside the top 10?
At this point take no less than 25 cents and a bag of peanuts for Lamar. But they must be fresh and unsalted in the shell. Lamar has devalued his worth due to late-season injuries and his playoff inabilities. He’s a good kid who either needs some maturity or alpha-male direction, or both. Not sure if he even wants to play football?