It’s time for the Baltimore Ravens to let Lamar Jackson loose, and it’s time for the rest of the NFL to stop dragging its feet and get after a trade for one of the league’s most exciting playmakers at the most important position in the game. Enough is enough. There was more interest around the league — at least known public interest — back in 2009 when the New England Patriots franchise tagged Matt Cassel.
How is there not more interest in the 2019 NFL MVP, who is just 26 years old and presumably has a ton of great years ahead of him? Say what you will about Jackson’s last couple of seasons, but when his production seemingly dropped off after that historic 2019 season (one in which he led the NFL in passing TDs despite ranking 32nd in pass attempts), his efficiency has improved steadily in 2021 and 2022.
The Ravens have known about this for 25 days and have responded with Nelson Agholor.
— Spotrac (@spotrac) March 27, 2023
Stay the course Baltimore.
A lot of people try to point to missed games as a reason why Lamar Jackson is not being heavily pursued, which is ridiculous. Deshaun Watson — who has two previous major knee injuries — sat out the entire 2021 season before being traded for a king’s ransom to the Cleveland Browns. Perhaps it is Watson’s situation that is preventing a deal for Jackson from going down, but there were multiple teams apparently interested in Watson last year.
How could there not be multiple teams besides the Ravens that would want Lamar Jackson and be willing to pay the price to get him? These three NFL teams need to stop dragging their feet and make Jackson an offer to get him out of Baltimore.
3 teams that need to take the plunge and go after Lamar Jackson
1. Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts have spent the last handful of years trying to find a solution for the quarterback position after Andrew Luck’s surprise retirement. Among other moves made at the position, the Colts have:
- Traded for Jacoby Brissett
- Signed veteran Philip Rivers
- Traded for Matt Ryan
They hired Frank Reich to come and work with Luck and make this team a perennial contender in the AFC, but that didn’t end up the way they had hoped. Can you imagine if Reich and Luck were still working together today? There would be All-22 clips galore circulating on the internet with how gorgeous that brand of football would be.
As it is, the Colts have hired Shane Steichen to come in and transform the franchise. He’s done outstanding work with Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts at his last two stops. Who’s to say he couldn’t do the same with the backfield combination of Lamar Jackson and Jonathan Taylor?
Trading for Lamar should be a no-brainer for a team that has seemingly been willing to try everything else at the position, and currently holds the 4th overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft.