“Colts would be interested” – NFL insider reveals latest on Lamar Jackson to Indy rumors
Could the Indianapolis Colts acquire Lamar Jackson? Rumors started to heat up shortly after Jackson announced his trade request on Twitter a week ago of the Colts potentially being interested.
Indianapolis is looking for a long-term franchise quarterback and hasn't had one since Andrew Luck retired following the 2018 season.
ProFootballTalk's Peter King wrote about what he thinks the Colts could do with the fourth-overall pick. He thinks they could go with a quarterback or package it into a deal to acquire Jackson.
King said:
"The Colts are in a good but not great spot. After going the last five seasons with five different starting quarterbacks, they need to get off the QB-go-round and settle on one long-term—but if they don’t believe in Richardson or Levis, they can’t force it.
"There may be the option of trading down or picking Hendon Hooker (the Tennessee quarterback is coming off ACL surgery and is likely to miss most of 2023), which would mean Gardner Minshew playing to start the season in a year that’s pretty important for Ballard after four straight years without a playoff win."
King then talked about the idea of the Colts acquiring Jackson out of desperation, but they may not pull the trigger due to his contract demands and injury history.
King added:
"That brings us to Lamar Jackson. After Jackson tweeted last week that he’d asked to be traded, there was speculation the Colts would be interested, in part because of the desperation of owner Jim Irsay. And if the guarantees weren’t stupid, I think the Colts would be interested. My bet is the Ravens would take the fourth pick in the draft, solely, for Jackson.
"But I can’t see the Colts getting involved with Jackson having the injury history of the last two years (34 percent of the Ravens’ offensive snaps missed in ’21 and ’22, with Jackson starting and finishing one of Baltimore’s 12 December/January games in the last two years) and wanting a fully guaranteed contract. Rampant speculation, some fueled by Jackson, is that Baltimore has offered a three-year pact fully guaranteed and it wasn’t good enough."
A slow year for rules
Jim Trotter on his dismissal from NFL Media GroupFootball Morning in America is up! ⌨️🎁
In my column this week:
🕵️♂️ What I’m hearing about the first four teams in the draft
🏟️ Giants owner John Mara stands up for fans
📏 A slow year for rules
💼 Jim Trotter on his dismissal from NFL Media Group
profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/04/03/nfl…
When could a Lamar Jackson-Colts trade happen?
It may take until the night of the draft for a Lamar Jackson-Colts trade to happen.
The Colts have the fourth-overall pick in the draft. They pick behind the Carolina Panthers and the Houston Texans, who will both most likely select a quarterback.
If a team trades up in front of Indy at No. 3 and selects a quarterback, the Colts may be open to trading their pick due to not getting a quarterback of their liking.
Could they trade for Jackson with the fourth-overall pick as part of a package deal? Maybe only time will tell.
Do you think the Colts will trade for Lamar Jackson?
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Peter King and H/T Sportskeeda.