Stephen A. Smith CLAIMS the Ravens are ‘insulting’ Lamar Jackson by putting a non-exclusive franchise tag on him
The Ravens placed their star QB Lamar Jackson under non-exclusive franchise tag.
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The Baltimore Ravens surprised everyone by placing their star QB Lamar Jackson under a non-exclusive franchise tag before Tuesday’s deadline. The Raves and Jackson couldn’t reach a middle ground in their contract extension talks so the Baltimore-based had no choice but to tag the star quarterback. But it’s their decision to place the Pro Bowl QB under a non-exclusive tag that raised a lot of questions around the league.
With just less than a week left for the new league year and the free agency, the NFL QB market is getting interesting. There are not a lot of starting QBs available in the market since Derek Carr and Daniel Jones just signed a massive contract with the Saints and the NY Giants respectively. Amidst this situation, the Ravens’ willingness to risk losing an MVP-calibre quarterback by placing him under a non-exclusive franchise tag doesn’t sit well with a lot of experts around the league including the well-renowned ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith.
During a recent episode of his show First Take, Stephen A. Smith talked about Lamar Jackson‘s situation in Baltimore. Furthermore, Smith believes that Ravens made a mistake by placing Jackson under a franchise tag.
“You’re letting him know that his value to himself doesn’t match what you believe his value is,” Smith said of the Ravens. “That’s a divide that I don’t think can be closed. I think it’s a mistake that the Ravens did that. When you’re almost 60 million dollars under Kyler Murray, which is considered a reasonable contract, it’s insulting.
Stephen A. Smith believes the Ravens disrespected Lamar Jackson
Moreover, long-time NFL reporter Stephen A. Smith also claims that the Baltimore Ravens should have given Lamar Jackson a $200 million guaranteed contract instead of insulting him with a tag.
“To me, Lamar Jackson should be in a position where a $200 million guaranteed, that’s what the Ravens should come to the table with,” Smith continued The fact that they’re using this non-exclusive tag tells me they’re nowhere near that, which is obviously insulting to Lamar Jackson, which is why I believe it’s a mistake,” said Smith about the Ravens tagging the two time Pro Bowl QB.
By placing Lamar Jackson under a non-exclusive franchise tag, the Ravens are letting Jackson to negotiate with other teams. But the Ravens would still have a chance to match the offer. In brief, the Ravens are just letting the dual-threat QB dictate his own market.
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Aravind Raj
(2075 Articles Published)