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He found himself in 2020 so it could happen.

An aspect that is likely holding up any Lamar Jackson action is that any team interested in trading for him would likely expect future draft picks to be later with him than where they're picking now. After the draft would make more sense for movement on Lamar with that in mind. As a bonus, it'll complicate the Ravens FA period and draft, as they'll have to consider drafting a Jackson replacement in case someone makes an outrageous offer while also keeping room to potentially match any offers.

They might not really feel this way, but you give up two firsts, two seconds, and an outstanding WR and you haven't identified your guy?

Why would you think they haven't identified their guy? Just because they aren't making it public?

Please don't turn this into a fight. It's an honest question.

What are you missing here? The part of the tweet that says: "Still going through the process, but they feel good about the group at the top?"

Or, me saying: They might not really feel this way...?"

I'm not fighting, but I really can't make sense out of your question.

I'm not missing anything. We have both watch this play out before. As an NFL FO many times the teams with the #1 pick play media games. They often times don't tell you if they've decided on their #1 pick or not. I don't trust that anything they put out in public as being accurate. Usually the truth gets revealed by the time the draft gets close but beforehand teams are often times deceptive.

The only difference here is you seem to put more faith is their public statement than I do. That's not a big deal. It's simply a difference in opinion.

I would think they have a "top" guy, but don't want to put it out yet, as anything could come up between now and the draft.

They wouldn't want the PR hassle, if their top pick has an issue in the next few weeks, or something comes uncovered, as it often does. They could save face and just say so and so was always their first choice.

Keeping everyone guessing is the smart thing to do. One, it leaves trade options open. Just as we don't know who, for example; Houston, Indpls, or Las Vegas are targeting - those teams may be willing to offer even a bigger trade load than Chicago got from Carolina if they're worried their guy may be gone by their pick. The other option is that Lamar Jackson is still in the mix. The underground scuttlebutt in Charlotte is the Panthers have feelers out on Jackson. If that is indeed the case, it would lend even bigger credence to the unknown selection meme.

I would think that until the Jackson thing gets settled or draft day gets here, no one will know for sure which way any of these teams are actually tilting honestly.

You really do struggle w/reading comprehension.

I agree w/you and Florida and that is why I said "They might not really feel this way..." I can't guarantee that, but it seems likely.

They are not going to play the card until the day of the draft. Happens every year.

I'm going to pull part of that article because much of it applies to all teams entering the Jackson Sweepstakes... I think it dispels some of the conspiracy theories concerning Jackson.

Why it might not work

Worth the effort?

There is a risk in entering negotiations with Jackson. The Ravens have the right to match any offer and could be inclined to do so unless it contains terms the franchise is fundamentally opposed to, such as a fully guaranteed deal.

What team wants to enter a situation knowing it might come away feeling as though it was used to do the negotiating for the players' current team? What's more, the fact that the Ravens have been unable to come to terms with Jackson after more than two years of negotiations will give teams pause.

There's another bit of complexity here: A team signing Jackson to an offer sheet might need to make some salary cap moves in advance in case the Ravens decline to match. Depending on how the deal is structured, that might impact other areas of the roster for Indianapolis even though there's no certainty the Colts would land Jackson.

Financial implications

The good news is there are ways around the salary cap complications on the front end of a potential Jackson contract. Consider Watson's deal with the Cleveland Browns. Despite it containing $250 million in guaranteed money, it was written in a way that reduced the first-year salary cap figure to $9.4 million. The downside is that kind of structure significantly inflated his salary cap number in future seasons. Watson's contract currently calls for cap figures that exceed $60 million a year in 2024 to 2026.

Perhaps more problematic than the salary cap obstacles are the guaranteed payments Jackson is sure to want. He reportedly wants a guaranteed deal in line with Watson's.

Even if Jackson is willing to settle for something less than a fully guaranteed deal, there will assuredly be massive amounts of guaranteed money in his contract. The future guarantees must be placed in escrow, per league rules, often limiting the amount of money owners are willing to guarantee. In the case of the Browns and Watson, that means as much as $185 million had to be escrowed to account for the guarantees after Year 1 of his contract.

Does Irsay (or other owners, for that matter) have that kind of liquidity? And even if he does, would he be willing to squirrel away such a massive amount of cash? You can see why the NFL Players Association hates this rule. But until it changes, it remains a reality in these kinds of conversations.

Finally, any team that pursues Jackson is going to need to offer a premium contract to deter the Ravens from matching. It remains to be seen what such a contract would look like.

Injury concerns

Is some of the conversation around Jackson's injury history overstated? Maybe. But for a team that might go all in to acquire the quarterback, his health must be a significant part of the conversation.

Jackson hasn't played a full season since he was a rookie in 2018, although he hadn't been sidelined by an injury until 2021. He missed the 2019 finale after Baltimore had clinched the top seed and he was forced to sit out a game in 2020 due to COVID-19. But, in the last two seasons, Jackson was out 11 combined games with ankle and knee injuries, including the Ravens' wild-card loss to the Bengals in January.

When you factor in the Colts' opportunity to proceed with a draft pick at a much lower cost -- and, therefore, less risk -- there's a lot to think about.

Full article: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id...r-jackson-makes-sense-indianapolis-colts

I think they are fighting the inevitable to a certain degree. Some positions are going to go that route unless there is a severe pivot in how it all works. I don't know what that pivot will look like.

It seems like other posters read it the very same way I did. Yet no snarky response to them. I wonder why that is? See, that's why it does me no good to try to be civil to you.

How about we stop talking to one another?

How about I post to who I want to when I want to? I understand you don't like the fact that I pointed out there were more posters that took your post exactly the same way as I did but your only snarky response was to me. That's a you issue. If I were you I may not have responded to that at all since it was quite accurate.

How about I respond to who I want to and you do the same. You know, the way message boards are supposed to work. Like I said, I tried to be quite civil and your response is there for all to see. That's not am me issue.

And anyone who believes differently is in denial.

Folks like to say that $ fixes everything, but if they were willing to spend the $ to keep him in Baltimore then we would not be here reading this Twitter.

I'm not sure they were willing to spend the money. Actually it may have been more about the length of the contract they offered which ties in directly with the amount of the guaranteed money. From what I heard it was only for three years. There may have been details I missed. But my guess is a QB in his position would want no less than a four year deal and more than likely five.

I think you may also wish to consider that there is no direct quote from Lamar in this Tweet.

Why should I have to concider that?

If I am Lamar Jackson, then the non-exclusive tag of 32M is a slap in my face. The Ravens knew full well that they would get no competition from other teams ... at least they could be confident because there was no precedence in the League. At least an exclusive tag would not have been low balling him in relation to his peers and they could have still continued to negotiate a new contract.

My mistake. I thought you were indicating they WERE willing to pay him the money. After rereading your post I see I was mistaken.

That is the best news of the off-season.

Lamar is turning into Baker 2.0

Why do I get the feeling the Ravens will be just fine with or without him?

Because the backup is solid, he's not Lamar the athletic freak, but he's not THAT MUCH of a drop-off. TBH, if I were the Ravens, I'd be good with the backup on a rookie deal while everybody else is paying 250 mil fully guaranteed Franchise QB contracts. They can always upgrade with Baker next year and kick the crap out of us.

I hope Baltimore gives that guy a 10 yr ga-jillion dollar, guaranteed deal.

I think losing Lamar would be a huge loss for Baltimore. They do have a very talented roster, but Lamar makes that team go. They have fallen off the last two years w/Huntley.

I saw something on social media where someone opined that there are 2 QB contracts that are muddling the Lamar Jackson situation and the Watson contract is not one of them. It is Mahomes's and Josh Allen's contracts because they signed deals that are not fully guaranteed. Had they gotten fully guaranteed deals then that would have made it easier for others to get them as well. Them not doing it gives the owners a little firmer ground to stand on.

Some have said earlier in this thread that Lamar not getting an offer could be in part that other teams do not want to do Baltimore's negotiating for them, figuring they would match whatever offer he gets from another team. I think this is a fairly big factor.

As a question on the Lamar issue. Has he signed his tender? Can he actually negotiate with other teams without signing?

I don't disagree with your points but I am curious if the status of the tender is complicating this as well.

Woah!

I really don't see how this relationship is repairable. Those are pretty strong words by Lamar. Here is the complete letter for those of you who were unable to read it.

Good question, Frank. I do not know the answer. From the way things sound, it seems he is free to negotiate. All the talk is about how no teams have talked with him or made him offer. That makes it sound as if that is possible. Again, though, I am not 100% sure.

@Vers - that definitely sounds as though Lamar is done in Baltimore. Or at least wants to be. Thanks for posting.

IIRC, once a tender is signed, it becomes a contract.

Lamar is free to negotiate w/other teams. The Ravens have the right to match any other offer that Lamar gets. If they decline to match the offer from the other team, they would receive two 1st round picks from the other team.

So, asking for the trade changes nothing in the process in regards to the negotiations, matching the offer, and the compensation. The significance of the tweet is that Lamar is going public. He asked for the trade before the Ravens put the franchise tag on him. He is letting the world know he wants out, probably because he feels disrespected.