OTL: Jackson & Flowers Work Out in Florida

When you’re the two-time NFL MVP you have options. You can come to Baltimore and collect $75,000 as a bonus for doing the voluntary OTA’s, or you can play hooky and work out in Florida.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson lost $750K in bonuses by not attending voluntary OTAs.

Jackson has $750,000 in annual offseason workout bonuses. He already missed too many workouts to earn that money this year. pic.twitter.com/iDr8jYDvOx

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) June 2, 2024

While I can’t imagine passing up this kind of money for a handful of summer workouts, it’s not a big deal for Lamar Jackson. He wasn’t in Owings Mills for voluntary OTA’s last year and he had arguably the best season of his career, winning his second NFL MVP. Jackson has nothing to prove and his teammates aren’t going to be discouraged by his absence. This isn’t a big deal for the team. It’s only notable because Jackson isn’t choosing to take advantage of the workout bonus in his contract.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson and WR Zay Flowers are putting the work in

Skinny Lamar is looking fantastic.

pic.twitter.com/WbonGxByhw

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) June 2, 2024

Jackson may not be doing the voluntary workouts with the Ravens this spring, but he is getting the work done in Florida. Dov Kleiman tweeted this video of Jackson connecting on a deep pass to Zay Flowers. Kleiman notes that skinny Lamar Jackson looks fantastic. You can’t argue with the tape.

Flowers and Jackson have a chemistry that can’t be coached. Jackson wanted Flowers and the connection seemed to happen naturally. This can only be strengthened by working together in the offseason. Jackson’s comfort with his weapons was subtly a huge part of the 13-win 2023 regular season. When Mark Andrews went down with an injury it was his comfort with Flowers and tight end Isaiah Likely that prevented Baltimore from missing a beat.

CJ Stroud gave his 2023 top 5 QBs on @mworthofgame podcast:

1) Patrick Mahomes
2) Lamar Jackson
3) CJ Stroud
4) Dak Prescott
5) Jalen Hurts pic.twitter.com/S1XiyaTRVm

— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) June 2, 2024

Where would you rank Lamar Jackson as a quarterback? C.J. Stroud, the young star for the Texans, has Jackson at number two. While it’s bold for Stroud to declare himself the third-best passer in the NFL, the list isn’t egregious. Mahomes is the Super Bowl champion superstar at number one. Jackson is coming off a second MVP season. That’s just common sense with the top two spots. Behind himself, Stroud has Dak Prescott. It seems very high for Prescott, but he is a star coming off a year with 36 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. Stroud ranked Jalen Hurts at number five. You didn’t ask, but here are my top five quarterbacks:

1. Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs
2. Lamar Jackson – Baltimore Ravens
3. Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills
4. Aaron Rodgers – New York Jets
5. Joe Burrow- Cincinnati Bengals

Josh Allen carries the Buffalo Bills and makes the most magical plays at the position from anyone not named Lamar Jackson. Aaron Rodgers is a three-time MVP. If Rodgers is healthy he is a safe bet to be a top performer. Love him or hate him, Joe Burrow makes tough throws in the pocket. When he’s healthy he just throws daggers. I think all five of these players could be in the MVP discussion on any given week of the 2024 season. Stroud is getting there. He’s an accurate passer with a ton of confidence. He’s one of my favorites, but I see the top five as a bit too rich for him. He’ll get there soon.

A sneak peek at what we’ve been up to at M&T Bank Stadium pic.twitter.com/VojIm0IjRw

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 29, 2024

The Ravens shared a video that showed their progress on the M&T Bank Stadium improvements. There is a lot of work left in front of the construction team, but this looks great. The one concern I have with a lot of this is that the average fan will be priced out of some of these new experiences. I guess that’s always a concern. The rooftop bar looks amazing and could be a great addition to the stadium. It’s refreshing to see that the Ravens aren’t done tinkering with their stadium. In general, this is a win for the fans.

Let’s Monday Baltimore.

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