Last night, Lamar Jackson went bowling.
Lamar Jackson
NFL quarterback by day, bowling extraordinaire by night
pic.twitter.com/6cNu49MYPZ— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) March 27, 2023
This morning, he publicly requested a trade away from the Baltimore Ravens. What a difference 12 hours makes!
win the super bowl. You all are great but I had to make a business decision that was best for my family and I. No matter how far I go or where my career takes me, I’ll continue to be close to my fans of Baltimore Flock nation and the entire State of Maryland. You’ll See me again
— Lamar Jackson (@Lj_era8) March 27, 2023
There’s a bit of comedy in all of this: Lamar went private on Twitter a few days ago. Meaning, if you didn’t already follow him, you wouldn’t be able to see his public trade request. Weird!
Here’s the full thread, courtesy of Tony Lombardi:
The timing of Lamar's tweets to synch up with the start of John Harbaugh's presser is a bit dirty. I give Harbs credit for putting on a positive space/spin on this ongoing dramatic saga. pic.twitter.com/1ntG31fRto
— Tony Lombardi (@RSRLombardi) March 27, 2023
As Tony notes, Lamar tweeted this out while John Harbaugh was taking questions from the media at the annual league meeting, turning his presser into a Lamar Jackson free-for-all.
John Harbaugh’s table at the league meetings after Lamar Jackson’s tweet: pic.twitter.com/2QM8wrl3vp
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 27, 2023
To his credit, Harbaugh handled it as professionally as he could, repeatedly saying that he ignores all of the chatter and still intends Jackson to be his QB1 by the time the regular season rolls around.
“I’m getting ready for Lamar. … When Lamar gets back on this train, it’s moving full speed.”#Ravens coach John Harbaugh, on his QB requesting a trade.
“We love him.”
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 27, 2023
It almost looked like Harbaugh even believed what he was saying, even though Jackson’s barrage this morning was screaming the opposite.
So, once again, we must ask: where do we go from here?
Jackson is still tendered under the non-exclusive tag with a fully-guaranteed $32,416,000 salary for the 2023 season. He has, to my knowledge, received no official offer sheets from another NFL team that would facilitate his departure from Baltimore (or a long-term stay, should the Ravens match).
So even though Jackson’s tweet appears to be a groundbreaking change in what has become a Mexican standoff, it really doesn’t change anything. After all, it’s still all about business, as Harbaugh himself acknowledged.
John Harbaugh agrees that “this is a business” and that even though Jackson has requested a trade, does not mean this will happen.
They will need fair compensation.
— Ravens Nation LIVE (@LIVERavenNation) March 27, 2023
Jackson didn’t even acknowledge what, in my opinion, is the biggest question surrounding his future: will he play on the tag? If he’s really set on leaving Baltimore, he can’t sign an offer sheet that the Ravens would match, because he’d then be stuck in Baltimore on a multi-year deal. And he’s clearly not going to get a sky-high offer that the Ravens wouldn’t match; if that was going to happen, he’d be gone already.
That leaves us hurtling towards a hold-out, in which Jackson refuses to sign his franchise tag and threatens to sit out the season if he doesn’t get what he wants.
Ironically, after the last month of collusion talk, it now feels like the Ravens now need another team to give Jackson an agreeable offer sheet, either to recoup the two first-rounders (if the 2023 pick is in the top-10 or so) or lock down Jackson long-term.
I don’t see that happening. The offseason QB carousel was almost over before it even began, with Geno Smith and Daniel Jones staying with their respective teams, while Derek Carr found a new home and the Panthers moved up to #1 to ostensibly draft their next franchise signal-caller. The Falcons and the Commanders spent premium money on their backup QBs, something you wouldn’t do if you were trying to put together an unmatchable offer for Jackson. There are a few QB-needy teams left – the Colts and the Jets, among others – but the Colts seem heavily interested in a rookie QB and the Jets are publicly infatuated with Aaron Rodgers.
So, he’s a Raven, for better, and more likely, for worse.
Former Ravens safety Tony Jefferson endorsed a divorce between the Ravens and Jackson, while Marlon Humphrey supported Jackson’s “business” decision.
IMO I think at this point it’s best Lamar and Ravens go their separate ways. It’s been a hell of a ride- Lamar is the best talent I’ve seen or been around and someone whom players love to play for. It’s in best interest for both sides to move in a different direction
— Tony Jefferson II (@_tonyjefferson) March 27, 2023
Handle your business..! We always here though 🙏🏿 https://t.co/VqQIDlzs0X
— marlonhumphrey.eth (@marlon_humphrey) March 27, 2023
Others in Baltimore were…less enthused (caution, NSFW: Language)
Lamar Jackson’s trade request has elicited strong reactions in Baltimore pic.twitter.com/nheH3AQUrP
— Stavros Halkias (@stavvybaby) March 27, 2023
But don’t go burning your jerseys, Flock Nation. Jackson still may be under center by the time Week 1 rolls around, and no matter what you say now, you’re going to be rooting for him then.
17 Responses
Lamar did us dirty. Boo birds will be out in force.
This seems to be a very frustrated LJ. Not used to getting what he wants so he is trying to force the issue. If he asked to be traded, why did he wait so long to tweet it? Could have done that 3 weeks ago. I guess he expected to have a lot of clubs knocking on his door. Whatever is going on it is getting uglier by the day with no end in sight.
Maybe a lot of GM’s are looking at this willful temper tantrum and saying he just isn’t worth it, we don’t need that happening in our locker-room . . .
Yeah, we’re screwed now. This little stunt today just about kills any leverage we had.
at this point,two 1st`s appears about as good as we`re gonna get….i only hope that if we go in another direction,we get a qb whose game is a little more pass-centric….i`m kind of tired of being a fan of a team where the passing game is the perpetual step-sister of the ground game….it`s a passing league….1 playoff win in 5 years behind a running qb who “may” be breaking down physically …maybe it`s time to move on for both parties…
personally,i`m anxious to find out whether our passing game issues will continue post-lamar…..is it lamar`s innate weaknesses in the passing game(the issues scouts alluded to and why he almost lasted until the second round) or is it the the ravens` poor offensive schematics that resulted in inconsistent passing game results and poor playoff outcomes?…
are bateman/duvernay/proche/wallace all just washouts?….did we whiff on ALL these excellent college receivers?….ot was it something else?…whichever way this shakes out,it`s an exciting time to be a ravens fan….it`s just a darned shame that the 2023 post season free agency push has been hamstrung totally by all this lamar contract drama….agholor is this year`s demarcus robinson…which isn`t all bad…if agholor has any tread left he`s a servicable receiver…
As long as Harbaugh is HC, we may never know about QBs in his system! Flacco PROVED what he was capable of in his spectacular SB MVP run only to be reduced to a check down game manager by Harbaugh! The same may have happened to Lamar, although he’s never been known for accuracy and to Huntley whose completion % at Utah in his senior year was 73.1 % with 19TDs and only 4 INTs!
Rocky – Good comments. At this point – 2 #1’s is a pipe dream. ( my opinion)
It’s getting hard for me to see any outcome other than Lamar choosing to sit out the year, or even worse, to sign the franchise tag and then to suddenly suffer a phantom injury that keeps him out for the season.
Either way, the Ravens will have missed free agency, failed to gain picks in this draft, had no money to pay late free agents, and then likely get stuck releasing Lamar next year in exchange for a 2025 3rd round pick.
I understand that a lot of people want to blame the Ravens here, but I don’t think they could reasonably have foreseen Lamar’s transformation from “they’re gonna get some Super Bowls out of me” to “I want to be a billionaire”. Everybody loses here.
The sooner he’s gone, the better for all concerned!
AQB – I would agree. However, I don’t see any team willing to pony up 2 # 1’s (100% I could be wrong). And, contractually provide whatever dollar value LJ thinks he’s worth. To Tony’s point in the article – who is left to bid for #8? However, LJ clearly doesn’t to be here, So, he ‘remains’ injured next season while collecting $33M. $33M of dead money. Wash / rinse / repeat the following season?
It would be a fool’s gambit. If he fakes an injury and sits out on the tag, everybody will know exactly what he has done. And who will offer him a contract after he does that? It would be the last $32.4M he ever earns in the NFL.
Paulie – Good evening. My comment was not a prediction per se – just a potential path forward that has a (imho) a decent percentage chance of actually happening. “everybody” – meaning the other 30 teams (not including the Browns which is why I say 30, not 31) have already figured Lamar out. That’s why he has zero offers to date – and will get zero going forward. The question for the Ravens is – do we cut our losses now? Or, wait until the 2024 season when part two of the ‘non-exclusive’ franchise price tag jumps to $45M of dead money? As an side – adding the $32.4M for watching the 2023 season from his couch to the bucks he’s made in the first 5 years – pushes him (someone correct me) toward the $90 Million range. At 28 years old – $90M in ‘career’ earnings. I could suffer through the next 70 years of my life on that 🙂
Didn’t really take it as a prediction Mike. But couldn’t resist doing my own prognostication on what is likely to happen if he did try his version of a sick out on the tag. I hear a lot of talking heads say, well, Lamar can just sit out or phone it in like there are no consequences. They should try that with their boss and see how it works for them.
BTW – Lamar says he wants to be a billionaire. If he had any clue about that he would have hired an agent to maximize his contract and hawk his name on the endorcement market. That’s where the real wealth comes from for athletes.
“So even though Jackson’s tweet appears to be a groundbreaking change in what has become a Mexican standoff, it really doesn’t change anything.”
Actually, it does. It changes everything. It’s a slap in the face to the people who believed in him and supported him. It’s a slap in the face to the only organization that was willing to let him be a quarterback, to his coaches, to his teammates. It’s a reason for a rapidly growing segment of the Flock to say, “That SoB ain’t gone yet?”
Where are all those offers that the talking heads have been touting for months now? Maybe he is developing a reputation for being both difficult and unreliable. Maybe at that price nobody is willing to gamble. Maybe nobody else wants to change their entire offensive system and personnel to accommodate him. Because if they don’t, he could look pretty average.
Maybe Lamar just picked the wrong sport. Maybe he should have focused on tennis or boxing. Anything where it’s all about the individual and not being part of a team effort. But if he can’t get out of Baltimore and he plays on the tag this year, he better get used to the idea of being booed, because to a growing extent he has broken his pick with the fans. The magic is gone.
I tend to agree with the conclusion. Lamar is about Lamar and he will do anything he can to make things hard on the Ravens. The fact that no other team has ponied up to meet or exceed the Ravens offer means they are spot on in their valuation. Lamar asking for a trade is silly. He has to sign his tender to be traded and he needs an interested party. So far, he has neither. He will do whatever he can to avoid injury as shown by his failure to even show at our playoff game. He will sit out until the very last minute, until it will impact his service years. I love his game but he has worn out his welcome in many ways!
Leave the tag on him and let him sit. If he signs the tag and shows up then make him sit. Keep him sitting until you get something for him. Let whomever takes him worry about knocking the rust off.
I’m order my Lamar Jackson Toilet paper now, so I can wipe my … with his face!
Okay, as if we needed anymore evidence that Jackson is a inconsiderate POS. This organization has kissed this juvenile’s a** for five years, Harbaugh especially. And now he completely blindsides him. We need to get rid of this guy, I don’t care if we give him away.