Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was definitely hated by Baltimore Ravens fans for playing with the rival for the entirety of his career. He is now being hated for what he is saying about their quarterback amid public discourse surrounding a new contract.
Lamar Jackson has been a mainstay in NFL headlines this offseason as his contract stalemate with the Baltimore Ravens continues.
During an appearance on the Footbahlin Podcast, Roethlisberger voiced criticism of Jackson and his pocket passing ability leaving a bit to be desired.
“You don’t really fear Lamar’s accuracy all the time. He’s got a huge arm, he can make things happen when he scrambles, but you don’t fear him just sitting in the pocket and picking you apart,” Roethlisberger said. “You can bring safeties down because you do fear him running because he’s a different level runner. So you fear that, so you bring safeties down
“But now, if you’ve got [Beckham] on the outside, you better put a safety back or it’s one on one, you could just throw it to him. It definitely creates some potential opportunities for that offense and for Lamar to run if he has to or to take those big shots down the field if he needs to if they bring the safeties down.”
His comments have caused a wave of criticism across social media, and that includes from Joy Taylor.
The Speak co-host went after Roethlisberger on her show for bringing up this same tired conversation that everybody tries to use against Lamar Jackson when they want to discredit him as a quarterback.
“I am tired of this conversation around Lamar Jackson. Let’s come together and throw these takes in the bonfire and cleanse ourselves of this conversation,” Taylor said.
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Jackson is best known for his running talents, as he is one of just two quarterbacks in NFL history to rush over 1,000 yards in a season, and he has done that twice.
Lamar Jackson is unlikely to respond as he has bigger fish to fry this off-season. He requested a trade on March 2, five days before he was given the non-exclusive franchise tag which allowed him to seek and sign an offer sheet with any other team
However, no team has approached Jackson about a deal nor have they contacted the Ravens about a possible trade. It has many thinking teams are colluding to make sure other players do not try and get fully guaranteed deals like the one Jackson is seeking because Deshaun Watson got one from the Cleveland Browns. He is likely seeking a long-term extension similar to the fully guaranteed $230 million deal Deshaun Watson signed with the Browns.
Despite the discourse, the Ravens haven’t strayed from the idea that Jackson will be their starting quarterback next season and beyond.
