Lamar Jackson‘s self-imposed deadline to reach an agreement on a contract extension has arrived, and with no deal in place, the Baltimore Ravens‘ superstar QB will play this season under his fifth-year option.
Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta released the following statement Friday morning:
On Friday’s “First Things First,” Nick Wright broke down why he’s “shocked” that the two sides weren’t able to come to an agreement ahead of the Ravens’ season opener against the New York Jets (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET).
“These are two teenagers playing a game of chicken,” Wright said. “[They’re] both dumb for this. This could end in disaster for everybody. Everyone [has] talked about why it’s risky for Lamar, and we know it. Anybody could suffer a catastrophic injury. His body type, his position and his style of play — you would think he’s maybe more likely than others to suffer that type of injury … and it would hurt his market value more than a lot of other quarterbacks. So that’s why it’s incredibly dangerous for him, but I don’t know if anyone has talked about how dangerous this is for the Ravens.”
“Everyone’s like, ‘They’ll just franchise tag him,'” Wright continued. “No one ever digs into what that means. There [are] two types of franchise tags: nonexclusive and exclusive. The nonexclusive franchise tag pays him $32 million next year. [The] Ravens would love to pay him just $32 million next year, but they can’t offer him that because that means any team in the league can take him for two first-round picks. … They can’t do the nonexclusive tag, so they would have to tag him with the exclusive tag. That’s $45 million dollars next year and $55 million the year after.”
On the other side, Greg Jennings isn’t too worried about the Ravens’ superstar signal-caller.
“[Jackson] knows the risks, the Ravens know the risks,” Jennings said. “Without him, we’re not even talking about the Baltimore Ravens as a contending team in the AFC, let alone [the] Super Bowl. So for me, this is smart on his behalf. I understand all the potholes you’re driving down and trying to dodge if you’re Lamar Jackson, but he [has] dodged a lot more than potholes, so I think he’s gonna be alright.”
Jackson, one of the few players in the NFL who represents himself, is now set to make roughly $23 million this year and would be eligible to be franchise tagged next season. If he isn’t tagged, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.
Jackson, 25, had been working with DeCosta and the Ravens’ brass to get an extension done ahead of Friday so he could focus on the season ahead without distraction.
“Come kickoff, I will not be talking about a contract,” Jackson stated earlier in the week. “I’m thinking straight Jets around kickoff time.”
