The Washington Commanders have made some major changes already in the 2023 NFL offseason. They made one of the biggest assistant coach changes/hires when they lured offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy away from the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. They followed up that move by bringing in veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who is coming off of a pretty decent year in 2022 with the Cleveland Browns.
The addition of Brissett, along with the team’s apparent affinity for 2022 fifth-round pick Sam Howell, has apparently taken the Commanders out of the running for 2019 league MVP Lamar Jackson. Jackson was given the non-exclusive franchise tag by the Baltimore Ravens, and although there is a massive price tag attached to his name, it’s rare that a 26-year-old former MVP quarterback would be available for just two first-round picks…and a boatload of cash, of course.
Lamar Jackson not being targeted by the Washington Commanders
Commanders GM Martin Mayhew says Washington is moving forward with Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett and while Lamar Jackson is very talented the Commanders won’t pursue him pic.twitter.com/lImCqtsJjY
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) March 27, 2023
Why can’t general managers just come out and say exactly why they’re not trying desperately to sign and trade for a player like Lamar Jackson? The Commanders GM — Martin Mayhew — compares his lack of pursuit of Javon Hargrave and the fact that there are a lot of talented players they just don’t pursue heavily to his lack of pursuit of Lamar Jackson.
It’s this kind of stuff that has a lot of NFL fans and pundits raising their eyebrows at the whole situation. Of course, people like to talk about the number of games Lamar Jackson has missed the last two years as a primary reason why teams aren’t lining up to sign him to a long-term deal and give up multiple first-round picks to acquire his services, but how many games did he miss last year by choice as opposed to because he was really too injured to play?
The injury he suffered against the Denver Broncos was reported as a 1-3 week recovery timeline at the time, and although injuries can be complicated, it felt more like an in-season holdout than Lamar actually being injured. Of course, that would be speculation on my part, and I am not privy to the goings on behind the scenes, so at this point, it’s really only that — speculation.
The point, however, remains. Martin Mayhew’s excuse for not pursuing Lamar Jackson is a bad one, bordering on a fireable offense. The only reason it’s not a fireable offense at this point is that this seems to be something that’s coming from the ownership ranks as far as every team — including the Ravens, apparently, blacklisting Lamar Jackson.
Or, at least, colluding to draw a very similar line in the sand when it comes to the price they will pay to sign/trade for him.
How could a team like the Commanders not be pursuing Lamar Jackson? Adding a former MVP who is only 26 to a team that includes Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson? With Eric Bieniemy calling plays? What am I missing here?
The Commanders obviously would be better with Lamar Jackson. They would not just be more competitive, but they might actually be contenders. And yet they’re not really considering a move like this seriously. Why? The GM tells us it’s because they just simply don’t make offers to every talented, available free agent.