“What am I missing here?” – JJ Watt, Tyreek Hill, and majority of the NFL puzzled as teams SHOCKINGLY show no interest in 2019’s unanimous MVP Lamar Jackson
Lamar Jackson will earn $32 million on non-exclusive franchise tag in 2023.
Follow Us
Tyreek Hill, Lamar Jackson, and JJ Watt (Image via Larry Brown Sports, People.com, and Sporting News)
The quarterback market has continued to shrink after Geno Smith and Derek Carr were signed by the Seahawks and the Saints, respectively. NFL Insider recently revealed that several teams have approached Jimmy Garoppolo and that he will be a guaranteed starter in 2023. Even Aaron Rodgers‘ drama seems to have come to an end with his recent communications with the Jets.
Even the Giants agreed to a four-year $160 million extension with Daniel Jones. However, Lamar Jackson still remains stuck in limbo without a contract extension from the Ravens. The Baltimore-based franchise placed the non-exclusive tag on Jackson, which means that he is open to talking with teams and striking a deal, and playing in the 2023 season.
Lamar Jackson is slated to earn $32 million from his tag in the coming season while he looks for a $200 million fully guaranteed deal elsewhere. Given the performance Jackson has had since he started in the league, teams would be lining up to shell out the big bucks and sign him as soon as possible. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case with a few teams.
Related: What is the most points ever scored in an NFL game?
Falcons, Dolphins, Panthers, Commanders, and Raiders not interested in Lamar Jackson
After the Ravens announced that they have placed the non-exclusive tag on Lamar Jackson, a few teams came out and said that they will not be pursuing the 2019 NFL MVP. The teams who are NOT interested in Jackson are Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, Washington Commanders, and Las Vegas Raiders. It makes complete sense for the Dolphins to not pursue Jackson since they already have Tagovailoa and though he seems inconsistent sometimes, he will find his footing soon enough.
However, the other teams who have revealed that they aren’t interested in a quarterback who has already proven himself to be one of the best are clearly lacking something. All these teams don’t have a star at QB1 and have been at the bottom of the pool in the last season. The Commanders let go of Carson Wentz a few days back and the depth cart doesn’t exactly fill anyone with confidence. The Panthers had a 7-10 season in 2022 despite having a first-round pick under center in Sam Darnold. The Panthers would drastically change their fortune if Lamar Jackson plays for them, but they aren’t interested in having him either.
The Raiders are reportedly in talks of acquiring Aaron Rodgers, but that isn’t a done deal just yet and even if they are successful in signing him, the veteran quarterback won’t play for more than a year in Las Vegas. All these teams are reportedly skipping on paying upwards of $200 million fully guaranteed to Jackson to sign quarterbacks in the draft.
Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill was extremely disappointed after hearing the news about Jackson’s franchise tag and teams not being interested in signing. He wrote on Twitter, “This LJ8 news is crazy!!” 3x Defensive Player of the Year J. J. Watt also spoke about teams going public about not wanting to sign Jackson. Watt tweeted, “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?”
It doesn’t cost any amount for teams to at least talk and have a clear idea about what Lamar Jackson wants, because not every report that comes out can be trusted blindly. Still, going on record and stating that they don’t even want to have an interaction with the best young quarterback in the league doesn’t make any sense. There will be at least one team in the NFL that is willing to be on a field-tested quarterback rather than a rookie who can also be a bust. Let’s see which teams are sensible enough to at least talk with Jackson and hash out a deal.
This just keeps on getting interesting. What a beautifully written script by the NFL writers!
Do follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Stay Updated!
Yash Karandekar
(1023 Articles Published)