Ravens Quick to Defend Lamar Jackson From The 'Slander'

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Lamar Jackson is one of the most popular players in the Ravens' locker room.

He has a solid rapport with all of his teammates and is quick to defend them when they struggle.

The Ravens players are also quick to take up for Jackson when he gets what they perceive as unfair criticism.

"Like, kind of tired of the slander, that’s really it," wide receiver James Proche said about the criticism Jackson received for skipping voluntary minicamp. "There’s only been one Lamar Jackson ever in this league, and the fact that the media disrespects him the way that they do is, what I said earlier, barbaric. So, there we go.”

Fellow wide receiver Rashod Bateman said Jackson does a solid job ignoring the outside noise. Bateman and Jackson also spent time this offseason working out together.

Despite missing the voluntary workouts, Jackson looked sharp during the recent mandatory minicamp. The Ravens are still trying to reach a long-term deal with him.

“I think we all can tell that Lamar doesn’t really care about what anybody says about him," Bateman said. "Being around [him], I think that’s something that I look up to him about. Being a black man in this world today, I think that’s what we pride ourselves on most is being able to stand up for ourselves in times when it’s hard. He’s a guy that definitely does that first class. He definitely shows us that it’s OK to be us, for sure.”

Jackson plans to meet with the other wide receivers in Florida before training camp to get some more practice time.

Bateman and Jackson have already established a strong rapport. And Bateman is expected to be his main target at wide receiver this season.

"He is our starting quarterback, so we would love to have him out here every single day," Bateman said.

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