'Come Learn The System!' Ravens Coaches Irked At Lamar Jackson For Missing Workouts?
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson will be operating a different offense next season. With Todd Monken as the new offensive coordinator, along with two new receivers in Odell Beckham Jr. and Zay Flowers, many thought Jackson would be at Baltimore's voluntary workouts.
Well, he's not. It is common for veteran players to miss this portion of the offseason, but when you have a new coordinator and receivers, getting as much work in as possible might be worthwhile.
Former NFL head coach Eric Mangini is surprised that Jackson isn't present for voluntary workouts after signing his new contract and with a different offense to learn under Monken.
"What I'm surprised by is that he's not on campus; he's not spending time with the new offensive coordinator," Mangini said on the 33rd Team podcast. "You're always going to hear coaches say the same thing; they are going to say, 'Hey, he's a pro; he's getting ready, doing all the things he needs to do.' That's because that's what you have to say. It's voluntary.
"Really, what you want to say is we just gave you close to a quarter of a billion dollars; it's a new offensive coordinator; come here. Come learn the system, spend time with the new receivers we have, come spend time and be a leader and be the face of the franchise that we just committed to. It's not the end of the world, but you would really like him to be there after signing a big contract extension."
As Mangini points out, it's not the be-all and end-all that Lamar isn't present, but it sure would have been nice to get a head start on preparations. Ideally, Jackson would be going over the offensive scheme with Monken and developing chemistry with his two new receivers.
Will that hinder the on-field production for Baltimore's offense moving forward? Possibly, and considering there are also two receivers who need to adjust to Monken's scheme, it feels like a chance missed for Jackson.
Only time will tell if it was a mistake not to develop that chemistry early on in the offseason, but Jackson has earned the benefit of the doubt, hasn't he?
After his contract saga finally ended and Baltimore secured Odell at his request, one could have been forgiven for thinking Lamar would be at voluntary workouts.
While it's not a huge news story, we may revisit this decision if the Ravens' offense gets off to a stuttering start next season.
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