NFL Rumors: Could Lamar Jackson sit out 2023 season and force Ravens' hand?
Quarterback Lamar Jackson dropped a bombshell earlier this week when he shared his intentions for the 2023 NFL season.
The 26 year old quarterback said that he asked the Baltimore Ravens at the start of March for a trade. After years of not being able to to work out a contract extension and now having the franchise tag, the quarterback apparently wants his way out.
However, the Ravens appear to be holding steady with the thought process that they aren't going to trade Jackson. Coach John Harbaugh said this week that he plans on building the team around Jackson. So, what's next for the quarterback and the Ravens?
NFL Insider Tom Pelissero spoke to Jim Rome this week on his radio show and said that there's a good chance that Jackson won't play this season. He said that Deshaun Watson did so in 2021 after he had requested a trade from the Houston Texans.
"Deshaun Watson had a unique amount of leverage in that particular situation. And the only way Cleveland was going to get him was to fully guarantee that contract. For Lamar, it's not, you know, in general at the quarterback position.
"It's not about the guarantees. It's about cash flow. It's how much money can you get right now? Because guess what? Quarterbacks don't get cut. Quarterbacks generally play out their deals, and quarterbacks, when you have a year or two less, get to a new contract.
He continued:
"Rather than signing a deal two years ago when he easily could have pushed and he did have some leverage of I'm not showing up for 1.7 million. He chose to play. And that sets him behind. He's already lost tens of millions of dollars already just in terms of the contract. Now he's out here. If he starts giving up $2 million per game to sit out."
Pelissero said that Lamar Jackson has an even better case to sit out the 2023 season than Watson did. Noting that Jackson has had better success throughout his career, including as an NFL MVP and playoff runs, Pelissero said:
"That would seem to be inconsistent with his prior decision. But again, this is not something that's been driven by the way that agents and teams and players generally think about these things. Anything is possible right now for Lamar Jackson.
"And, you know, John Harbaugh continues to say that he believes Lamar ultimately will be the starting quarterback. It's just there's not really a clear path to exactly how that's going to happen at this point.
Pelissero also noted that if the quarterback did in fact have an agent, he likely would have gotten a contract extension as early as two years ago.
Reggie Wayne tells fans to stop asking him to recruit Lamar Jackson for Colts
The Indianapolis Colts continue to be at the top of the list as a landing spot for quarterback Lamar Jackson.
On Thursday, though, the former Colts star player asked fans to stop pleading their case to him on Twitter. Reggie Wayne tweeted that he wants fans to stop asking him to tell the Colts to trade for the quarterback. He said that he has no way to make that happen.
"Will y'all stop @'n me to tell the Colts to get Lamar. I have no way of making your wish come true. Hell... I'm still trying to get my kids to listen to me... Let alone a organization."
Will y'all stop @'n me to tell the Colts to get Lamar. I have no way of making your wish come true. Hell... I'm still trying to get my kids to listen to me... Let alone a organization.
Wayne added by saying that he's still trying to get his children to listen to what he says and that getting an NFL organization to do so is out of the question. So, even if the Colts can work out a trade for the quarterback, it doesn't appear that Reggie Wayne will be helping out with it.