Opinions vary about Lamar Jackson as a pure passing quarterback, a debate that will probably get more concrete data this year as the Baltimore Ravens shift to a more pass-centric offense. One thing that has never been up for debate is the fact that he is a tough assignment to go up against—especially for pass rushers.
His elite speed, athleticism, and elusiveness has been a literal game-changer on numerous occasions across his first five seasons, and he hasn’t gotten any easier to tackle since then. So it came as a minor relief for veteran edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney that that is one less thing he has to worry about this year.
“I’m just glad I don’t have to chase the guy anymore right now”, he recently told reporters, according to the team’s website. “I got a year off from chasing the quickest, fastest quarterback in the league, which is great”.
The former first-overall draft pick of the Houston Texans, Clowney spent the past two seasons in the AFC North with the Cleveland Browns trying to chase Jackson down. But he didn’t get to see too much of Jackson, who missed one full game in that span and most of another. He did register 1.5 sacks and 3 hits in those games, but only half a sack was against Jackson.
The former league MVP’s durability has been under the spotlight, unable to finish the past two seasons due to nagging injuries. The Ravens have finished outside of the top half of the league in scoring offense each of the past two years because of that. Clowney knows if he stays on the field, however, this can be a potent unit.
“But I think it has a lot of potential with the receiving corps that they have”, he said of the offense. “Their guys have been catching the ball all over the field. J.K. Dobbins, the running back, running pretty good – just came back. Offensive line, physical, big. It’s going to be a good season to watch those guys compete and just hopefully win a lot of games. Like I said, that’s the goal”.
Clowney has been a part of five playoff teams during his nine seasons, though neither came in his two years with the Browns. He lost to the Ravens in the postseason with the Tennessee Titans in 2020. He has two postseason wins, one with the Texans in 2016 and one with the Seattle Seahawks in 2019, each in the Wildcard Round.
While the Ravens have advanced to the postseason in four of the past five seasons, they have only claimed one victory in that time in 2020, over Clowney’s Titans. It is their only postseason win since winning the Super Bowl in 2012. Still, he came here to win.
“I felt like they had a winning team – a team [that] could go to the playoffs and have a chance to win it”, he said. “It felt like if I come help and do my part, hopefully we can win it. That’s what I was thinking when I came to visit”.
