Regardless of what happens from here in trade negotiations for Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets’ GM Joe Douglas wanted to make one thing clear on Monday.
Baltimore Ravens’ quarterback Lamar Jackson will not be a Jet, should the Rodgers trade fall through for whatever reason.
On Monday, Jackson announced in a Twitter thread that he requested a trade from the Ravens back on Mar. 2. While speaking to reporters on Monday during the NFL’s yearly league meetings, Douglas emphasized that the club will not pursue the 2019 league MVP, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini:
“First of all, Lamar Jackson is a fantastic player, but where we stand is, it would be disingenuous and negotiating in bad faith if we went down that path. We have our plan, we have our process and we’re sticking to that…We’re never going to operate in bad faith.”
On Rodgers, Douglas stated “there’s no hard deadline” on a trade, but the club remains “optimistic” that they’ll land the four-time league MVP. Rodgers announced on “The Pat McAfee Show” two weeks ago that he intends to join the Jets for 2023.
Douglas spent 15 seasons as a scout for the Ravens (2000 to 2014) before joining the Chicago Bears in 2015, so it’s easy to wonder about Douglas potentially looking to do business with his former team. He was on staff for the Ravens’ 2000 and 2012 Super Bowl championship-winning clubs.
Unlike Rodgers, it’s not exactly clear where Jackson will wind up. QB-needy teams include the Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers and the Houston Texans. But of course, the Panthers and Texans own the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in next month’s draft, respectively. As such, it’s hard to envision either of those clubs making the play for Jackson.
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But Douglas’ comments at Monday’s meeting give us clarification on one thing: Jackson will not be a Jet.
