Why the Ravens Should Let Lamar Jackson Go
The Lamar Jackson saga has been one of the most interesting storylines to happen in an offseason since Tom Brady left New England. The biggest reason for this is how everything the NFL reporters are saying gets shut down or corrected by Jackson himself creating a large amount of intrigue. Have the Ravens offered him close to the Watson contract? Have they not offered him anything at all? Are they just planning on keeping him on the franchise tag and then letting him walk? Have any teams secretly been asking around about him? None of these questions have been answered for certain. It sounds crazy, but our opinion is that the Ravens should move off of Lamar Jackson and here’s why.
No Meaningful Success When He Was Cheap
Lamar has only made 32 million total in his five seasons in the NFL. Between 2018-2020, Jackson’s best stint in the league so far, the Ravens paid him 5.5, 1.0 and 1.5 million dollars. For the level he was producing at, this was one of the biggest steals of all time. Baltimore failed to surround him with elite weapons while he was cheap and this led to no meaningful success. Sure, he won a lot of regular season games, but when January came, no ticks were going in the Raven’s win column. If they couldn’t win while he was cheap, how are they going to win in a now tougher AFC when he’s making 50 million a season? Even if they came to their senses and wanted to get Jackson a clear cut WR1, they would have to sacrifice their defense, something they have never decided to do.
Massive Injury Risk
If you want to see some incredible football plays, go over to Youtube and type in “Lamar Jackson Highlights”. When he’s on the field, there is no denying he’s one of the most electric players anybody has ever seen. The problem is he hasn’t been on the field that much since 2020. The 2021 season saw him lead Baltimore to a 7-5 record while missing four games. 2022 was a little better at 8-4, but he still missed another 5 games. If Lamar didn’t come with this injury risk, I 100% believe a team would be giving him the type of contract Deshaun Watson received. I know Watson was coming off injuries too, but that clearly hasn’t worked out well for Cleveland so far. I don’t see another owner rushing to make the same mistake the Browns did. The best ability is availability. It’s a cheesy saying, but it’s inarguable. A team doesn’t want someone taking 50 million a year from their salary pool if he’ll only be available 75% of the time.
Shrunk Under the Playoff Pressure
Everyone refuses to acknowledge this point for reasons I can’t explain. Lamar has had three playoff appearances and was one-and-done in two of them. His turnovers to total touchdowns ratio is almost 2. His playoff completion percentage comes in at a horrible 55.9% and he’s never scored more than 20 points in a playoff game. Yes, Jackson has only played 4 playoff games, but this isn’t the NBA or MLB where there’s multiple games in a series. You don’t get as many second, third and fourth chances in the NFL as you do in other sports because one loss and you’re out. Star players get two-three opportunities to make something happen in the playoffs before they start to get labeled as overrated. Jackson has done zilch with his chances and it’s very concerning.
Relies Too Heavily on His Legs
I’ve already said Lamar is an electric quarterback. No one is denying that. The problem is a lot of his electricity is supplied via the ground game. His passing has progressed throughout his time in the NFL, but it’s still nowhere close to the likes of Burrow and Mahomes, two quarterbacks he’d presumably have to beat to make it to the Super Bowl. Since 2000, there has only been one quarterback to win a Super Bowl who’s legs played a major part in their style and that was Russell Wilson in 2013. That team also featured one of the best defenses to ever take the field in the history of the league, so I’m not sure we should even use that example. To put it more simply, running quarterbacks just don’t win Super Bowls. If you’re getting pressured from the outside and the defender is breathing down your neck, are you going to find the open receiver or are you going to tuck and run? Give me the guy who keeps his eyes down field and relies on his arm to get the job done.
Trade Compensation is Too Tempting
Because Jackson is such a high-profile player, the level of compensation the Ravens could get for him is almost too much to pass up. When Russell Wilson was traded last offseason, he commanded two firsts, two seconds, a fifth and three players. Then the Browns gave up three firsts, a third and fourth for Deshaun Watson. Mega trades like this have certainly blown up in the receiving teams faces, so the market has come down quite a bit, but the Ravens could still get a great haul. Regardless of whether Baltimore works out some sort of sign and trade or simply lets Lamar sign with another team and chooses not to match, at minimum they’re receiving two first round picks. Think about all the Ravens could do with five first round picks in the next three drafts. They could trade for a franchise guy that isn’t working out on his current team in a year or two or draft another quarterback of the future and surround him with cheap, high-quality talent. The possibilities are endless.
In the end, nobody knows what the Ravens are thinking. I don’t think there’s any denying the fact Lamar has some amazing play still left in him, but based on the optics coming from the media it seems his relationship with Baltimore is severed. In our opinion, the Ravens are doing the right thing and will be better for it by the 2025 season.