NFL Trade Rumors: Falcons HC reveals details of alleged interest in Lamar Jackson amid former MVP’s uncertain future
You can cross off Lamar Jackson to the Atlanta Falcons.
Jackson is currently looking to be traded after receiving the non-exclusive franchise tag from the Baltimore Ravens, and the Falcons are reportedly out of the running.
Owner Arthur Smith explored options for the idea of trading for Jackson but is reportedly holding off. He also reiterated a week ago that Lamar's situation was much different from Deshaun Watson's a year ago due to Jackson's availability.
Update: #Falcons coach Arthur Smith said the team "absolutely'' examined the idea of trading for Lamar Jackson, but declined.
Last week, owner Arthur Blank said the Lamar situation is "very different" than Deshaun Watson' from a year ago due to concerns with Lamar's availability https://t.co/JOvpCR5OPB
Last year, when the Houston Texans made Watson available via trade, the Falcons were expected to land him before the Browns outmatched the contract that they had in place for Watson.
Here’s what happened with Deshaun Watson: #Falcons believed they had him. They really did. This morning however, #Browns made it clear to Deshaun Watson that they’d pay him what HE WAS WORTH as one of the premier players in the league — a true franchise cornerstone.
This was in lieu of Watson missing the entire season in 2021 and having many ongoing criminal cases at the time.
With the Falcons not having a clear-cut proven franchise quarterback, many thought they would pursue Jackson this off-season.
Atlanta Falcons owner is committed to second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder
When he appeared on the Rich Eisen Show last month, Arthur Smith was asked what made him excited about Desmond Ridder heading into the 2023-2024 season.
Smith applauded the way Ridder played for them last season and how many games he won in college at Cincinnati.
Smith said:
"He won a lot of games in college and helped Luke Fickell at Cincinnati really change the whole culture of that program. And I certainly think that experience ... you start that many games, coming in helps. We certainly saw that early on as we threw everything we could at him. And he was impressive, and we felt that he was ready to take over at that time of the season, and I thought he did a nice job. Cool, collected under pressure."
Smith continued:
"At the end of the day, you've got to be able to operate on critical third downs, fourth downs, two-minute situations, and I thought he'd done that pretty well. And certainly there's a lot of things we all can continue to improve, but we've got a lot of faith in him."
Ridder saw little action during the 2022-2023 season. He started the last four games for the Atlanta Falcons as they benched Marcus Mariota.
He went 2-2 as a starter, completing 63.5 percent of passes for 708 yards and two touchdowns.
Do you think Desmond Ridder will be the franchise quarterback the Falcons are hoping for?
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit the Rich Eisen Show and H/T Sportskeeda.