According to Jeff Howe, the New England Patriots are not expected to become the first outside team to get in the mix for Ravens QB Lamar Jackson.
The Patriots have been speculated to be a potential dark horse bidder for Jackson for a couple of weeks now, and that was energized by owner Robert Kraft saying at the owners meetings this week that rapper Meek Mill, who is a mutual friend of Kraft’s and Jackson, texted him that Jackson wants to be a Patriot.
However, a league source tells Howe the cost of prying Jackson out of Baltimore will be too steep for New England, which has never dedicated a ton of resources to the position under HC Bill Belichick.
New England would have to meet Jackson’s contract demands, hope the Ravens don’t match, and then send over two first-round picks if they don’t.
The Ravens used the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson, which means Jackson is free to meet with interested teams right now, except none have reached out so far. There hasn’t been any reported progress between him and the Ravens on an extension.
He requested a trade from the team back on March 2 and went public with the request this week. NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport says it’s his understanding the Ravens and Jackson have been engaged in active negotiations over the past week.
He adds the trade request becoming public now may be a leverage tactic by Jackson against the team and not necessarily an indication of a relationship fractured beyond repair.
Jackson, 26, is a former first-round pick of the Ravens back in 2018. He played out 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 cost them $23 million fully guaranteed for the 2022 season. He was due to be an unrestricted free agent in 2023 when the Ravens used the non-exclusive franchise tag at a cost of $32.3 million fully guaranteed.
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 on Jackson as the news is available.
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