After a flurry of activity early, with some big trades and free agency signings, the NFL offseason has quieted down, in large part due to the holding pattern teams are in as the league waits to see what happens with a pair of former MVP quarterbacks.
Aaron Rodgers has made clear he wants to join the New York Jets, but the Packers haven’t exactly been moving quickly to accommodate that request. While the expectation is that Rodgers eventually finds his way to the Meadowlands, no one is quite sure when that happens and what all the Packers will be able to get back for him.
Then there is the Lamar Jackson saga in Baltimore, where the Ravens placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on the former MVP, meaning he could sign an offer sheet with another team. In the three weeks since, there has been little indication that any team is particularly interested in Jackson, with plenty of speculation of some collusion among owners to stay away and send a message, given Jackson’s hopes of landing a fully guaranteed contract like Deshaun Watson got.
Jackson has been left with little in the way of leverage, but on Monday he decided to apply pressure the one way he possibly could, by making a public announcement that prior to the franchise tag being placed on him, he requested a trade from the Ravens.
A letter to my Fans
I want to first thank you all for all of the love and support you consistently show towards me. All of you are amazing and I appreciate y’all so much. I want you all to know not to believe everything you read about me. Let me personally answer your questions
— Lamar Jackson (@Lj_era8) March 27, 2023
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
On the Ravens side, John Harbaugh’s not ready to give up on Lamar staying in Baltimore.
“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
This seems to be Jackson trying to make clear that he’s not going to be coming back to Baltimore, at least longterm, by saying his goodbyes to Ravens fans publicly. That shifts the onus onto the Ravens to find a trade for him, but doesn’t clear up the biggest issue standing in Jackson’s way, which is that the league as a whole seems totally uninterested in giving him the guarantees in his contract he wants.
Now, there is probably a team out there willing to give him more than what the Ravens were offering, which was “guarantees” that had conditions attached, meaning they weren’t really guarantees. We still don’t know where the acceptable middle ground is between what Baltimore was offering and what Jackson wants, but he now at least makes clear that he has no plans on returning to Baltimore and puts out the public call for some team to come get him.
Baltimore may be willing to wait awhile and even hope Jackson chages his mind. The Draft isn’t for another month and at the least they’ll want to see what the Jets have to give up for Rodgers before setting their trade price on Jackson. Still, if it wasn’t clear before, Jackson is available to the rest of the league, it’s just a matter of if any team is willing to not only give him what he wants, but also what Baltimore will want in return for a star QB in his prime.