ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported over the weekend that there still hasn’t been a “firm” offer sheet presented to free agent QB Lamar Jackson from another team.
Fowler mentions the Colts as a wildcard team to watch for Jackson or possibly someone like the Jets, depending on what happens with Aaron Rodgers, or the Titans and Vikings.
“There’s been no firm offer sheet for Lamar Jackson right now. He has not signed his franchise tag, so this all has to be hashed out and really the draft could be a good indicator for the league. Because if there’s a team in the top 10 that can’t get its passer, let’s say they’re going for Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud and can’t get him,” Fowler said, per BleacherReport.com. “Maybe it’s Indianapolis at No. 4 if they don’t get their guy, they could pivot to Lamar Jackson and give up two first-round picks to acquire him. We just talked about the Jets. If for some reason the Aaron Rodgers trade would fall through–nobody expects that– they could pivot to Jackson. And then when you talk about good fits, I asked some executives around the league what teams would make sense. They mention Tennessee, who just cleared some cap space. They have a new GM Ran Carthon, who’s working on the roster. They could use a running quarterback; they have experience with that in the past. And even a wild card like Minnesota. Kirk Cousins has one year left on his contract if they want to reestablish their identity there.”
Jackson is free to meet with interested teams right now and there hasn’t been any reported progress between him and the Ravens on an extension.
Multiple reports have said that teams are reluctant to sign Jackson to an offer sheet that the Ravens will just turn around and match and that they would prefer to negotiate a traditional trade with Baltimore instead.
Jackson, 26, is a former first-round pick of the Ravens back in 2018. He just finished the fourth year of his four-year, $9,471,652 contract that included a $5,968,472 signing bonus.
The Ravens picked up Jackson’s fifth-year option that will cost them $23 million fully guaranteed for the 2022 season, but won’t prevent them from working on an extension. He’s due to be an unrestricted free agent in 2023.
In 2022, Jackson appeared in 12 games for the Ravens and completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He also rushed for 764 yards and three touchdowns.
We’ll have more regarding Jackson as the news is available.
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