NFL trade rumors: Lamar jackson on the move?
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Baltimore, Maryland (PSF) — Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has been rumored to being traded out of the Charm City. Jackson could be traded for a “windfall of draft picks” according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo.
He is set to become a free agent this offseason. The Ravens will place the franchise tag on Jackson if the two can’t agree to a long term deal in the coming weeks. Alternatively though, teams like the Atlanta Falcons could try to acquire Jackson in a trade for multiple draft picks, including the Falcons #8 overall pick in this year’s draft. He would certainly be an upgrade over Marcus Mariota or Desmond Ridder.
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Other teams that Lamar Jackson could go to include the Las Vegas Raiders. They are done with Derek Carr and they’re looking to get a fresh start at QB while having this “win now” mentality. Jackson would provide some dynamic qualities to the Raiders that Carr lacked. However, Las Vegas isn’t on the top of the list of getting Jackson if he were to be traded. A higher priority for them would be to get Aaron Rodgers. This would also make sense from the Ravens standpoint because trading your star QB to a team in the same conference is pretty risky. One other team that Lamar Jackson could go to is the New York Jets. The Jets are similar to the Raiders in the fact that they will have to pay a large amount to land Jackson in-conference. The Jets were fairly close to making the playoffs last year, having a good start and then collapsing in the latter part of the season. Having this dramatic improvement at quarterback with this great defense would almost surely make the Jets a playoff team, something they haven’t been since 2010!
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Lamar Jackson unanimously won MVP in 2019 and was drafted with the 32nd pick in the 2018 draft. This past season, in 12 games Jackson threw for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, and a passer rating of just over 91. He also ran for 764 yards. He missed the rest of the season with a sprained knee he suffered in week 13 against the Broncos. Jackson finished his second straight season injured, significantly damaging the Ravens’ hopes of making a playoff run.
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Ravens head coach John Harbaugh assured that there is a “200% chance” that Lamar Jackson stays in Baltimore. His desire for more fully guaranteed money, similar to Deshaun Watson’s $230 million contract is what is keeping the parties from getting a deal done. Ravens management has made several offers “near the top of the QB market in key metrics”. If the two sides don’t agree on a new contract before the March 7th franchise tag deadline, it is likely that Jackson will still be with the Ravens come next season.