OTL: Ravens Trying to Make Something Happen at WR

Hello and happy Friday, Ravens Flock. We have had a lot to discuss this week as Lamar and his camp have finally opened the floodgates and broken the radio silence. My reaction to Lamar and his team leaking information is that they are desperate. For some reason, no team has sent an offer sheet for his services, and the NFL has collectively said, “Nah, we are good.” The Lamar tweet seems to be a play from the Deebo Samuel playbook, as requesting a trade publicly on Twitter is a way to get the negotiations rolling again.

For whatever reason, teams aren’t interested in Lamar, and it might have something to do with how they view him:

The NFL still doesn’t understand Lamar Jackson’s value (apparently) https://t.co/OtyQRlSBQ1

— Steven Ruiz (@theStevenRuiz) March 30, 2023

The question becomes, why is this? Lamar is 26 and already has one MVP to his name. Granted, this is the same group of people who told Lamar to move to a different position leading up to the 2018 draft, so maybe they don’t understand football, but it is quite odd. I get the contract he wants is massive, and the cost to get him with the contract is a lot, but you have a former league MVP in his prime available. Maybe his durability is a question with the contract and picks? It is just such a weird situation to see the NFL turn a blind eye to one of the most talented QBs in the league.

But at the same time, it isn’t like Lamar’s contract negotiations have been simple:

Update: #Ravens QB Lamar Jackson isn’t demanding a fully-guaranteed contract, per @JFowlerESPN

He “just wants the guaranteed portion of it be larger than [Deshaun] Watson’s.” pic.twitter.com/scbzZFw5WR

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) March 30, 2023

This, again, feels like a leak to get some interest in Lamar from his team. Like, “oh look, NFL teams. He doesn’t want a fully guaranteed contract; he only wants 90% of it.” If this is true, I don’t blame other teams for not being interested in Lamar. I understand I played both sides early in this piece, but at the same time, I get it. That is a ton of money to commit to one person, and NFL teams are understandably hesitant. Lamar’s injury history and lack of success throwing since 2019 probably don’t help, either. Now, playing in a run-first offense with no weapons doesn’t help; unfortunately, NFL teams don’t care about that. All they see is a guy with mediocre passing numbers with an injury history who wants 90% of his contract guaranteed.

This tweet puts everything into perspective:

The main takeaway I got from this is the league no longer wants to give big contracts to QBs if they aren’t absolutely certain they are a franchise QB.

According to the podcast only: Mahomes, Burrow, Allen, and Herbert are seen as franchise QBs around the league. https://t.co/PqFmnYJTRR

— T’Challa (@Agent_00bondjr) March 30, 2023

Do teams not view Lamar as a franchise QB, or do they view him as a Dak-level QB? The answer is probably somewhere in the middle, but with all the baggage with his contract and everything, is it that surprising that no team has taken the bait?

Enough of the Lamar talk; it is time for every Raven’s fans favorite topic, Receiver talk:

Update: The #Ravens have looked into trading for #Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins and #Broncos WR Courtland Sutton.

They’ve also made a push to sign free-agent WR Odell Beckham, per @JFowlerESPN https://t.co/TXGAIc2CZ8 pic.twitter.com/PAj4YnIYNK

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) March 30, 2023

The Ravens are trying to do something at wide receiver. You can’t say they didn’t try to acquire one. Where this goes is anyone’s guess, but at least they are attempting to get something done.

Since it is Friday and I missed doing it last week thanks to the comedy of the Entire Gym situation, today is Mock Draft Friday. Today’s mock will be done with the perception that Lamar is back and OBJ is a Raven.

I like this trade to get out of the first round. It would take a lot to get out of the first for the Ravens, and the Bears offered big time compensation to get back in the first. Josh Downs and Eli Ricks add to the team’s most important needs list. Zach Harrison and Byron Young (AL) add some beef to the defensive line. As for Joseph, the Ravens could use a late-round safety, and he is a steal in the fifth. Stromberg adds some depth and competition to the interior of the O-Line, and Abdullah is a freaky edge rusher who has to move to linebacker because of size.

I am very happy with how the mock turned out. We managed to orchestrate a beautiful trade down and got some steals like Downs and Joseph.

Thank you for reading, and hopefully, this Lamar saga will end one day.

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