We’re heading into the second week of the new league year for the NFL, and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson remains one of the biggest names available on the trade market.
Earlier this month, the Ravens placed the franchise tag on the 2019 league MVP.. This prevented him from entering the free agent market, though teams still have the opportunity to sign the 26-year-old to an offer sheet.
During an appearance on SportsCenter (h/t Bleacher Report’s Adam Wells), ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler named two surprise teams who could make a play for Jackson: The Tennessee Titans and the Minnesota Vikings:
“Maybe it’s Indianapolis at No. 4 if they don’t get their guy, they could pivot to Lamar Jackson and give up two first-round picks to acquire him. We just talked about the Jets. If for some reason the Aaron Rodgers trade would fall through–nobody expects that– they could pivot to Jackson.
And then when you talk about good fits, I asked some executives around the league what teams would make sense. They mention Tennessee, who just cleared some cap space. They have a new GM Ran Carthon, who’s working on the roster. They could use a running quarterback; they have experience with that in the past. And even a wild card like Minnesota. Kirk Cousins has one year left on his contract if they want to reestablish their identity there.”
The Titans have already committed to retaining Ryan Tannehill for 2023, and the Vikings still have veteran Kirk Cousins under contract for another season. Given that Jackson is nine years younger than both Tannehill and Jackson, he would certainly make sense as a long-term option for both Tennessee and Minnesota if either club could make the dollars work.
If a team signs Jackson to an offer sheet, the Ravens will have five days to match. If they decide not to, Baltimore would receive a pair of first-round picks as compensation.
The Louisville product owns an impressive 45-16 record as a starting quarterback. Jackson has completed 63.7 percent of his pass attempts for 12,209 yards and 101 touchdowns against only 38 interceptions to go along with 4,434 rushing yards and 24 rushing touchdowns.
