Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s future remains up in the air. According to a Super Bowl weekend news dump from NFL Network, the Ravens plan to tag Jackson but have left open the possibility of trading him, too.
Here’s what Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo, and Tom Pelissero shared moments ago.
“The Baltimore Ravens will place the franchise tag on quarterback Lamar Jackson if the sides cannot agree to a long-term deal in the coming weeks — and there is a possibility other teams could tempt Baltimore to trade the former NFL MVP for a windfall of draft picks, per sources.”
The Ravens and Jackson will try to work out a long-term deal ahead of the March 7th deadline. But if they can’t agree on an extension, the Ravens will tag Jackson and control his rights for the 2023 season. NFL Network’s report says the team could use the exclusive or non-exclusive franchise tag; the latter would allow the other 31 teams to make long-term contract offers for Jackson that the Ravens could match or not. If they don’t, Baltimore would get a pair of first round picks in return.
But even if an exclusive tag is used, a trade isn’t being ruled out.
“The Ravens could tag Jackson and explore options for a trade, with surely no shortage of suitors for one of the NFL’s most dynamic talents.”
And they note Jackson would have control over a deal if tagged since he’d have to sign the tag and be officially under contract in order to be dealt.
Baltimore traded up for Jackson with the 32nd pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. After sitting on the bench behind Joe Flacco, Jackson was named MVP in his first full season as starter in 2019. But the last two years have been difficult, missing the end of the 2021 and 2022 seasons due to injury as the Ravens’ offense floundered without him. Jackson may be angling for a fully guaranteed deal similar to Deshaun Watson but it’s unclear if Baltimore would be willing to pay such a high price. So far, it seems they’d prefer a more traditional quarterback deal that isn’t fully guaranteed, which would force ownership to put all that money into a separate escrow account.
Most recently, head coach John Harbaugh has committed to keeping Jackson in Baltimore. But money talks and so far, the two sides haven’t been able to reach a financial agreement. If that doesn’t change over the next month, Harbaugh may have to sing a different tune. And the Ravens might be looking for their next quarterback.
