Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said “I do” when asked whether he thought quarterback Lamar Jackson would be starting Week 1 of the 2023 season.
“I’m looking forward to a resolution,” Harbaugh told reporters March 27 while discussing the negotiations between the team and Jackson, who’d earlier tweeted that he requested a trade on March 2. “I’m excited thinking about Lamar all the time, thinking about him as our quarterback. We’re building our offense around that idea, and I’m just looking forward to getting back to football and am confident that it’s going to happen.”
Coach Harbaugh on Lamar Jackson:
Harbaugh, attending the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix, noted that the Ravens would have contingency plans in case the Ravens and Jackson parted ways but reiterated that he was “pretty fired up about Lamar Jackson.”
Ravens team president Sashi Brown: “We love Lamar. We want Lamar back. We are committed to trying to get something done.”
Team president Sashi Brown echoed Harbaugh’s optimism, saying, “We love Lamar. We want Lamar back. “We’ve seen the tweet today. We’ve been in good communication with him. These are hard circumstances … but we’re committed to trying to get something done.”
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John Harbaugh Praises Lamar Jackson’s Negotiating Skills
Jackson, 26, said he requested a trade five deals before the Ravens placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on him, a maneuver to keep a player for another season as the sides negotiate a contract extension.
Harbaugh said Jackson was handling the situation with class.
“Lamar is a great guy, and Lamar is doing a nice job with the negotiations and I think that needs to be said,” Harbaugh said. “People need to understand that he’s doing a good job.”
He also refuted the narrative that the relationship between Jackson and the team was fractured. “There really is no frustration other than the natural, normal hey-this-is-how-pro-football-works,” he said.
Ex-Baltimore Ravens QB Turned ESPN Analyst Defends Jackson’s Tactics
Jackson has been criticized in the media for negotiating without an agent, but former Ravens quarterback Robert Griffin III rose to his defense on the March 24 episode of ESPN’s “First Take.”
“Everyone talks about how Lamar doesn’t have an agent and it’s hurting him,” Griffin said. “Not having an agent isn’t what’s stopping Lamar Jackson from getting this fully guaranteed contract. What’s preventing him from getting this fully guaranteed deal is the fact that he is raging against the machine.”
Lamar Jackson is fighting AGAINST THE MACHINE that is the NFL.
Griffin brought up recent examples of prominent players — left tackle Laremy Tunsil twice, inside linebacker Bobby Wagner and cornerback Richard Sherman — who negotiated their contracts.
“What’s the machine? It’s agents, it’s NFL insiders,” Griffin said. “All of these guys, they don’t want their bottom line to be affected. … By Lamar not having an agent and cutting them out — not having the direct ties to every NFL insider out there, cutting them out — he’s raging against that machine he’s not winning that battle right now.”
Griffin, who also won the Heisman Trophy, said Jackson was a worth fully guaranteed contract like the one Deshaun Watson signed with the Cleveland Browns last year. In his five years in the league, Jackson has led the Ravens to a 45-16 record, has won the league MVP and has been to two Pro Bowls.
“It’s not that he’s an outlier. It’s the fact that Lamar Jackson has accomplished more on the field and he has a much cleaner track record off the field,” he said.
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Ravens Remain Hopeful About Retaining Lamar Jackson Long-Term