Lamar Jackson Getting 'Screwed' By Ravens Tag and No Trade? Players Speak Out
Is Lamar Jackson getting screwed by the rules of circumstance?
Is he getting screwed by the Baltimore Ravens?
Is he getting screwed at all?
More than a few NFL players seem to be voting for one of the first two choices as the Ravens on Tuesday placed the non-exclusive tag on Jackson ... and are now both in conflict with the 2019 NFL Most Valuable Player and at risk of losing the team's best player.
By using the non-exclusive as opposed to the exclusive, teams will be able to negotiate with Jackson - and if one delivers an offer that the Ravens refuse to financially match, the cost of a trade is only two first-round picks.
In essence, Baltimore could lose its 26-year-old star signal caller set to enter his prime ... for the return of a measly two top draft picks.
Oddly, though, in a wacky incident of collusion ... er, we mean, coincidence, almost a dozen teams on Tuesday - as if part of an orchestrated chorus - announced via media "leaks'' that they won't be bidding on Jackson.
So maybe the Ravens are not playing with lose-Lamar fire, opting to get Jackson on a cheaper deal ($32 million as opposed to the $45 million exclusive tag).
But they may be playing with fire in the court of public opinion, opinion being led by players like the just-retired J.J. Watt, star DB Tyrann Mathieu and at least members of the Ravens family like Ronnie Stanley and Rashon Bateman and Robert Griffin III.
From the legendary Watt: "Why are all of these teams so publicly 'out' on Lamar Jackson, an MVP winner in his prime at the most important position in the entire NFL? What am I missing here?"
From Mathieu: "When is the last time a league MVP was treated so disrespectfully?? I feel some kind of way about it - And don’t tell me what was offered to him, show me!!!''
From Stanley, Twitter exasperation ...
Said RG3: "Lamar Jackson is a Unanimous MVP, has lead the NFL in Passing Touchdowns, is 26 years old, is 45-16 as a starter and All the QB needy teams are saying they aren’t interested. Don’t smell right to me.''
And you probably already know Bateman's views on players being "lied'' to by general manager Eric DeCosta.
Said DeCosta in the wake of the tag news: "We will continue to negotiate in good faith with Lamar, and are hopeful that we can strike a long-term deal that is fair to both the Lamar and the Ravens ... Our ultimate goal is to build a championship team with Lamar Jackson leading the way for many years to come.''
The words say plenty. Some NFL observers seem to believe the actions say more.
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