'We're Going To Find Out!' Do Ravens Want Lamar Jackson Long-Term?
Jalen Hurts' big payday could have consequences on the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson contract talks.
After Hurts signed a five-year, $255 million deal that has $179.304 million guaranteed per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Ravens are now on the clock to secure Lamar's services.
With the non-exclusive tender still unsigned, the Ravens are in no man's land when it comes to Jackson's future. But former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi has stated that the NFL world is about to find out if Baltimore really wants Lamar long-term or not.
“We're going to find out if Baltimore really wants to sign Lamar, that’s what we’re going to find out now," Lombardi said on The Pat McAfee Show. "Do they really want to sign him or do they just want him to play on the tender? We're going to find that out.”
It is hard to believe that Baltimore wouldn't want Jackson as its franchise quarterback until he retires, but the reported guaranteed money that Jackson is seeking appears to have made the Ravens think twice.
What could also help is that Hurts' contract isn't fully guaranteed, and that might sway Jackson to reconsider his want for a fully guaranteed deal ... or it might not.
Baltimore signed Odell Beckham Jr. (at Lamar's request) to give the offense a serious boost, and to show they want to keep the quarterback happy.
As Lombardi stated, we are going to find out one way or another if Baltimore is serious about having Lamar for the foreseeable future or if they are happy for him to play on the non-exclusive franchise tag (providing Jackson signs it).
Surely the Ravens want to do everything they can to make sure Jackson is the team's franchise quarterback ... right?
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