The Baltimore Ravens have been in the NFL news as of late for a lot of reasons. Baltimore
recently signed linebacker Roquan Smith to a five-year contract extension worth $100. The
Ravens acquired him at the trade deadline from the Chicago Bears. They have yet, however, to
give quarterback Lamar Jackson a contract extension.
Smith has been with the franchise for a much shorter amount of time than Jackson has. This is
going to be an interesting situation as the offseason progresses. The Baltimore Ravens are not
the best Super Bowl bet this season. What does the Roquan Smith signing mean and the Lamar
Jackson non-signing yet mean also?
Lamar Jackson Won’t Be Back
At the end of the season, Lamar Jackson will be an unrestricted free agent. He hasn’t played in
quite some time due to an injury. Jackson hasn’t received a contract extension and there is
something going on behind the scenes also in that organization. There will be other teams that
are willing to sign him as a free agent and throw the bag at him. The Baltimore Ravens are
making a huge mistake.
Baltimore needs Lamar more than the other way around. The market will be massive because
there are a lot of quarterback-needy teams out there. Super Bowl betting odds are going to
change for someone next season if they can lure away Lamar Jackson from Baltimore,
Maryland.
This isn’t going to end well and they should have signed him by now. Lamar Jackson doesn’t
have much interest in the franchise tag.
Franchise Tag Him
Next season, the Baltimore Ravens have the option to franchise tag him but you can forget that
on his end. He will want a long-term deal and probably hold out if they franchise tag him. It is
also possible that Lamar Jackson tells the organization to trade him somewhere else and grant
his wishes.
Baltimore can get a king’s ransom of NFL Draft picks for him and there would be teams that
would be willing to give up a package like Russell Wilson. That was a ridiculous trade by the
Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos. Baltimore would want a first-round pick in return for
him and potentially more.
How many teams would be willing to trade for him if they franchise-tagged him instead of hitting the free-agent market potentially? It would be an interesting storyline.
Teams That Would Be Interested
There are at least seven teams that would potentially go after Lamar Jackson in the NFL. The
Miami Dolphins, the Tennessee Titans, the Indianapolis Colts, the Carolina Panthers, the Atlanta
Falcons, the New York Jets, and the Washington Commanders. One of the best trade offers
could be Lamar Jackson to the Indianapolis Colts for the fourth overall pick or the Tennessee
Titans for Ryan Tannehill and the 11th overall pick.
There are also other trade scenarios that might happen. If Miami got its hands on him because
of the current situation with Tua Tagovailoa’s concussions, then the Dolphins’ odds to win the
Super Bowl would improve for next season and beyond. The rumors that would be going around on Twitter and social media platforms would be utterly chaotic.
The one team that makes the most sense for Lamar Jackson is the New York Jets. New York is
a quarterback away because Zach Wilson is a bust. Mike White, Joe Flacco, and Chris Streviler
aren’t the answer either for this football team at the quarterback position.
Roquan Smith Staying Long Term Is Good For the Defense
Even with all of the Lamar Jackson hoopla, Smith being signed to a contract extension is a very
good thing. He has a lot of tackles this season and has helped out players like Patrick Queen
out. However, it is still mind-boggling that Roquan Smith received a contract extension before
Lamar Jackson did. There will be many questions to be answered with Lamar Jackson before
the offseason or during it, but the speculation isn’t going to go away
