Lamar Jackson Requests Trade From Ravens
The Lamar Jackson saga has taken another turn, this time with the 2019 unanimous MVP tweeting that he has formally requested a trade out of Baltimore. Jackson, who has missed the 10 games over the last two seasons announced that he requested the trade on March 2nd, just five days before the Ravens placed the non-exclusive tag on him.
Jackson’s tweet came just moments before head coach John Harbaugh was set to take questions at the NFL’s 2023 owners meeting. But head coach John Harbaugh remained confident that Jackson would be under center for the Ravens in 2023, but says the team has to plan for all the contingency plans, even going as far as to mention his “love” for Jackson.
Jackson reportedly turned down a deal from the Ravens which would have guaranteed him the second largest amount of money in NFL history. Rumors have swirled as to teams that could be in the market to sign Jackson, but since becoming available to speak to teams under the non-exclusive tag not much progress has been made for Jackson in moving forward with a new deal.
Monday’s news falls just days after news broke last week that a member within Jackson’s camp was contacting teams on his behalf, which is against NFL rules, as this person is not a certified member with the NFLPA. The league sent out a memo telling teams not to discuss deals with those not authorized to do so.
This situation appears to be far from over however, as in order to trade Jackson a team would need to be willing to give up valuable draft picks or players, while also being prepared to give Jackson the deal he has been looking for. While this news is certainly not good for Ravens fans, its not time to panic just yet as the Ravens still have control over what happens with Jackson, and according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Jackson has been “actively” negotiating with the Ravens as recently as last week, even after requesting a trade.
