Lamar Jackson is Playing a Dangerous Game
Lamar Jackson is absolutely playing with fire as he continues to represent himself through contract negotiations. Ravens have reached out to Lamar on multiple occasions to work out a deal but for some reason, Jackson just isn’t trying to rap.
It may behoove him to go seek an agency to manage his career choices. It’s been said that he’s so focused on improving his craft that he doesn’t want to mingle in negotiations.
Jackson has chosen to take the hands-on approach, though. It is his career, and no one can tell a grown man how to handle his finances. Lord knows, I’m not a pocket watcher either like some speculative fans who put down athletes for their poor money management decisions when things go awry. But his seemingly unorthodox way of handling this is raising eyebrows all across the industry; even his coach, John Harbaugh, who gave us this quote courtesy of The Rich Eisen Show and PFT’s Mike Florio:
This has raised so many questions that notable draft mockers are even projecting the Ravens to bite the bullet and prepare for life after Jackson. While Harbaugh is on record saying the Ravens won’t take a QB in the 1st round this year, Sports Illustrated’s Mike Orr isn’t ruling out the possibility that the Ravens may take a QB at some point in the draft.
So, with salaries trending up in the QB market and guys resetting said market every year why not go ahead and cash in? You see what Mahomes got. You see what Allen got and some would place Jackson in the elite tier with those players. Watson set records with the guaranteed money he received from the Browns deal even with allegations and a looming suspension over his head. Lamar, it’s time to get your bag, my guy.
And we’ve already seen how the other side of this goes, right?
Other players who have been entrenched in negative relationships with their front offices this offseason may be of influence too.
Baker Mayfield and the Browns postponed negotiations and the QB battled thru an injury riddled season. Now his value is diminished and with no concrete plan to go elsewhere, Baker is taking a backseat to Watson in Cleveland for now.
Oft-injured Cardinals QB, Kyler Murray who is best friends with Baker, is disgruntled with his situation in Arizona, as well.
We all know about Jackson’s style of play and the elevated risk that comes with a QB of his caliber. While some denounce the risk Jackson takes from the rush attempts…I mean, he still does take a lot of hits. You just can’t deny that. Ravens Owner, Steve Biscotti, was quoted as saying this:
While the “too many hits” narrative may be over blown as the Ravens owner alluded to, we can’t look at Lamar’s career and not compare it to a guy who was brought in to be his back up and mentor in 2019; look no further than RGIII.
Washington mortgaged 2 future 1st round picks in 2012 to move up and get Robert Griffin III.
Griffin was a Heisman winner who, along with his coach, was essentially a catalyst to the prevalence of the Zone Read options and RPOs that we see today in the NFL. Griffin was the rookie of the year due to his unique, Olympic speed and the innovative elements that Shannahan implemented in the Washington offense. He was famously injured in that Wild Card game against the Seahawks and things went downhill from there. Shanahan then changed their philosophy to make Griffin more of a pocket passer after his ACL/LCL tear. Griffin wasn’t able to overcome his limitations as a passer and with him losing a half step due to his injuries, he became an average QB at best. Griffin was never able to garner the same success of his rookie season as he was injured again late in 2013 and eventually replaced by Kirk Cousins. Washington chose not to give him a 2nd contract and since then he’s spent time with the Browns and Ravens as a backup.
RGIII is a clear indication that these situations should be handled carefully.
While Jackson has steadily improved each year as a passer, he still has limitations and a lot left to be desired by Raven’s faithful. This leaves cause for concern especially when referencing what guys like Cam Newton and RGIII have become.
Put plainly, it’ll be difficult for Jackson to maintain his current level of athleticism for the duration of his career and how much does he really scare you as a straight drop back passer?
Let’s be frank about this. Sooner or later, the mobility aspect of his game will become a little bit easier to defend as he gets older. This is why the window of maximizing success is small not only for Jackson’s career but for the Ravens or whatever team he plays for next.
Jackson still has an astronomically high ceiling as he’s already started shattering record books and has an MVP to his name. Dude’s only 25 years old!
But the handling of his contract at this pivotal point in his career is absolutely vital. He needs to understand how valuable he is, currently.
The way both sides play this out will be interesting.
Will Jackson succumb to the Ravens wishes and sign the contract asap so that both parties can capitalize on a seemingly small window for success? And what will that mean for the cap for the rest of the team as we watch a similar situation that involved the Chiefs basically having to choose between Kelce and Hill after giving Mahomes a record setting contract last year.
Will Jackson wait it out, get through the season unscathed, break more records, and cash in next year. Will he restructure for a long-term deal or take a franchise tag when he does sign? Will the Ravens draft a QB while placing Jackson on a franchise tag that is only guaranteed for a year. Then what??? There’s no telling.
One thing the QB market has taught us is a fundamental economic principle that a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow which is why some see Jackson’s tactics as admirable. Inflation of USD will always cause these deals to get larger and larger every year (barring a worldwide pandemic).
As a guy whose football career ended in college due to a shattered patella, I would say that it would benefit both the Ravens and Jackson to get the ball rolling on this contract as soon as humanely possible but, what do I know. If he really needs some good advisement, I’m sure there’s a lot he can take from the Baker, Cam, and RGIII situations.
Or he could just, ya know, sign an agent.
