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Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson publically address the media for the first time since December 2, 2022, after officially signing the record-setting long-term extension that he and the team agreed to on the first day of the 2023 NFL draft.
Among the many topics that he talked about during his 33-minute and 15-second podium session was that he is “very eager” to join forces and take the field with his new arsenal of pass catchers.
“I want to throw for like 6,000 yards with the weapons we have,” Jackson said. “I just want to do that because no one has ever done that and I feel like we have the weapons to do it.”
General Manager Eric DeCosta and head coach John Harbaugh made good on their vow to ‘build up’ the Ravens’ lackluster wide receiver room this offseason. The position group was ravaged by injuries and finished as the least productive in the league last season.
With that in mind, the team’s top decision-makers went to work, opened up owner Steve Bisciotti’s checkbook, and invested in the position in a way that they never have in the history of the franchise that dates back to 1996.
After being relatively quiet in the first wave of free agency, the Ravens signed a pair of former first-round wideouts in Nelson Agholor and three-time Pro Bowler Odell Beckham Jr. a couple of weeks later.
For the third time since taking over as the team’s head front office executive five years ago, DeCosta used a first-round pick to draft a wide receiver with the selection of Boston College standout Zay Flowers at No. 22 overall.
“I’m not an individual awards type of guy or stat watcher (but) we’ve got explosive guys,” Jackson said. “With the addition of Zay, OBJ, we’ve got (Rashod) Bateman going to be 100%. Can’t forget about my boy Mark (Andrews), (Isaiah) Likely. I just can’t wait to get rolling.”
He said that Flowers has already reached out about trying to get together to work out but at the time, their schedules didn’t match up. Following rookie minicamp, Jackson hopes to get all of his weapons, new and returning, together to get a jump start on building and improving their chemistry.
According to Pro Football Reference, the current record more the most passing yards in a single-season passing belongs to Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning who threw for 5,477 yards within 16 games with the Denver Broncos in 2013.
That record has stood for nearly a decade and the closest any player has gotten to even tying it since was future Hall of Famer Tom Brady in 2021 with 5,317 yards with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and two-time league and Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs last season with 5,250 yards.
The year that Manning broke the record, The Broncos were the best offense in the league and he led the team back to the Super Bowl for the first time this century. Even though Jackson isn’t overly concerned with his stats, shattering the record books with a prolific passing attack would give him the best chance to deliver on his draft-day promise of bringing a championship back to Baltimore.
Lamar Jackson Excited for ‘Different’ Direction on Offense
The two-time Pro Bowler expressed that he will always be grateful for the tremendous success he enjoyed under former Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman. In 2019, he became just the second-ever unanimous league MVP selection in his second season as the focal point of a revolutionary and record-setting run-first offense.
However, now that Roman has stepped down and both he and the team prepare to embark into this new era following his massive pay raise, Jackson likes what he has seen thus far with their new-look offense under first-year play caller and designer Todd Monken.
“Coach Todd Monken reached out to me and we spoke a couple times and I heard from the guys that the offense is looking pretty smooth,” he said. “I just got my Ipad a couple of days ago and from what I’ve seen, it looks different and I’m liking it so far.
Ever since Jackson came into the league and took over the reins of the offense midway through his rookie year, head coach John Harbaugh said that the expectations for the unit are “always high” and that the same goes for the other three phases of the game.
“It’s got a chance to be exciting and fun, it’s got a chance to be a winning offense. That’s what we always want to be,” he said. “It’s a team thing. We’re going to go out there and fight and work to be the best team we can be.”
Lamar Jackson Says He Didn’t Seriously Entertain Interest From Other Teams
One of the other top takeaways from his press conference was the insight that he shared about his contact with other teams after the Ravens applied the nonexclusive franchise tag tender on him. Despite having the freedom to negotiate with every other front office in the league, Jackson’s heart and mind were always set on staying in Charm City.
“I really didn’t care for other teams. I really just wanted to get something done here,” he said. “I wanted to be here.”
Even though he requested a trade in early March, the two-time Pro Bowler told team reporters that it was nothing more than a negotiation tactic to “get the ball rolling”.
Contrary to what a lot of sports media reported prior to his extension, Jackson said that there were multiple teams that reached out to him and were interested in potentially engaging in contract talks but he never took them seriously.
“Other teams are cool but I wanted to be a Raven,” he said. “I really want to finish my career here and win a Super Bowl here.”
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