PHOENIX – A couple of minutes before Ravens coach John Harbaugh was to speak to the media at the NFL owners meetings Monday, quarterback Lamar Jackson dropped a bombshell on social media.
It a series of tweets to his fans, Jackson revealed that he asked to be traded because the team would not recognize his value.
The Ravens placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson, which would require a team to provide the Ravens with two first-round draft picks and the Ravens could match the offer sheet. If Jackson plays under the tag, he would receive $32.4 million for one season.
Here are Jackson’s tweets:
“A letter to my Fans(‚) I want to first thank you all for all of the love and support you consistently show towards me. All of you are amazing and I appreciate y’all so much. I want you all to know not to believe everything you read about me. Let me personally answer your questions
“in regards to my future plans. As of March 2nd I requested a trade from the Ravens organization for which the Ravens has not been interested in meeting my value, any and everyone that’s has met me or been around me know I love the game of football and my dream is to help a team
“win the super bowl. You all are great but I had to make a business decision that was best for my family and I. No matter how far I go or where my career takes me, I’ll continue to be close to my fans of Baltimore Flock nation and the entire State of Maryland. You’ll See me again.”
Harbaugh was caught off guard by tweets.
“I haven’t seen the tweet(s),” Harbaugh said. “That’s an ongoing process. I’m following it very closely, just like everybody else is here and looking forward to a resolution. I’m excited, thinking about Lamar all the time. Thinking about him as our quarterback.”
The Ravens recently hired Todd Monken, formerly of the University of Georgia, to be their offensive coordinator.
“We are building our offense around that idea (that Jackson would be the quarterback),” Harbaugh said.
No trade partners have stepped forward for the Ravens.
The Falcons, who pursued Deshaun Watson last season, were thought to be a potential suitor for Jackson. The Falcons do not plan to pursue Jackson, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported when he was tagged.
Jackson has a 46-15 regular-season record, but is 1-3 in the playoffs.
The Ravens could have placed the exclusive franchise tag on Jackson, which would have prevented other teams from negotiating with him, but that carries a $45 million price under the salary cap.
The dynamic Jackson, who is from Miami and played at Louisville, has been spectacular when healthy. However, he’s missed significant time over the past two seasons. He played in 24 of 34 regular-season games. He also didn’t play in the playoffs loss after last season and offended some of the faithful by not attending the game.
He didn’t play when the Ravens defeated the Falcons 17-9 on Dec. 24.
The Falcons drafted Desmond Ridder in the third round last season. He started the final four games and went 2-2. But over the offseason, the Falcons cut Marcus Mariota and signed veteran Taylor Heinicke to back up Ridder. Logan Woodside is also on the roster.
The Patriots were considered a potential trade partner with the Ravens.
“I’m not going to talk about players on other teams,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. It was pointed out that Jackson doesn’t fall under the tampering rules because he’s a free agent.
Harbaugh remained optimistic that the Ravens and Jackson will get things worked out.
“Believe me, if we’re playing football next year and Lamar Jackson’s the quarterback, we’re all going to be happy,” Harbaugh said. “And he’s going to be fired up to play and he’s going to be happy to be out there playing, too — because that’s the kind of guy he is.”
The Falcons do not figure to re-enter the Jackson market. The Falcons plan to build out there team and don’t want to give away premium draft picks and the amount of money it would take to sign Jackson.
Watson received a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract. Giants quarterback Daniel Jones received a four-year, $160 million contract with $92 million guaranteed.
“Why are the Atlanta Falcons not interested, I think there are many, many layers to that,” former Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said recently on the Rich Eisen show. “Not only is it the idea that they just getting through what they considered cap hell. Some guy that used to be there was responsible for that. … That’s a long story. We can talk about that another time.
“But the fact is, they are getting out of that. They need their draft picks. To be doling out two first-round draft picks and all of this money. I just feel truly, this organization, in Atlanta, wants to move beyond that. They want to start building.”
The Falcons passed on Justin Fields and Mac Jones in the 2021 draft. Last season, they passed on Kenny Pickett before making Ridder the second quarterback taken in the draft.
The Falcons pick eighth overall in the upcoming draft, but the top four quarterbacks -- Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Alabama’s Bryce Young, Kentucky’s Will Levis and Florida’s Anthony Richardson -- will likely be selected in front of them.
“Now, they have a quarterback situation, which is why we are talking about this, that is very complicated for them right now,” Dimitroff said. “Taylor Heinicke is not coming out there to Atlanta and just being the savior. We know that. They are at a spot in the draft where they can potentially pull another one. They had one from last year. I also believe there is a lot rolling that way (in favor of Ridder).”
Jackson would required the offensive system to be tailored to his skill set.
“I just think in the end, they want a fresh start,” Dimitroff said. “That’s my opinion about why I feel they are backing away from this in Atlanta.”
Credit: John Bazemore
Credit: John Bazemore
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