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The Baltimore Ravens were arguably the biggest winners on the draft’s first day because they were able to finally close what seemed like a never-ending saga by locking up franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson long-term.
Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey reacted to the news by addressing anyone who claimed the relationship between the team and Jackson was fractured beyond repair.
“Also everyone talking crazy about the Ravens for the past 4 months. Screw you! Respectfully,” Humphrey tweeted.
Humphrey also addressed the segment of the Ravens fan base who wanted general manager Eric DeCosta fired for not getting a deal with Jackson completed sooner.
“Y’all thought he was leaving???” Humphrey tweeted, referring to Jackson. “and All yall Ravens fans that wanted EDC fired where y’all at???”
More Teammates Sound Off in Celebration
Humphrey wasn’t the only player on the team who took to Twitter to express their joy and relief.
One of Jackson’s newest targets, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., only needed one word to encapsulate his excitement.
“OUEEEEWWWWWEEEEEEEEE,” tweeted Beckham, who signed a one-year deal with Baltimore on April 13.
Veteran outside linebacker Tyus Bowser welcomed Jackson back and credited divine intervention for making it happen.
“Look at God. Welcome back @Lj_era8,” Bowser tweeted.
A pair of his former teammates also extended their congratulations to Jackson, including Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, who played with him from 2019 to 2021 and drove Jackson around during training camp before Brown’s rookie season.
New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram, who played with Jackson in 2019 and 2020, posted that slander was no longer allowed now that Jackson had “secured the bag.”
Ravens Believe Jackson Is “Best QB in the NFL”
The Ravens think Jackson is not only worth every cent but is the best player in the league at his position.
“The market is what the market is,” DeCosta said in a video the Ravens tweeted on April 27. ” John [Harbaugh, head coach] says it all the time; that’s the market. But I think that the way that we feel about Lamar, it’s the market-plus, if that makes sense.
“Like, we’ve seen Lamar. We’ve won lots of games with Lamar. We’re around him all the time. And we do feel that he’s the best quarterback in the NFL, and I think this contract reflects that,” DeCosta said.
DeCosta said he was watching the Boston Celtics lose Game 5 to the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference playoffs when he got a text from Jackson.
It read something along the lines of, “I think we can get a deal done. We’re getting close,” DeCosta said.
“I said back to him, ‘Lamar, you just saved my night,'” DeCosta said. “Because I was in a dark place, and at that point I didn’t care anymore about the Celtics.”
DeCosta described the negotiations “unusual” and “unique” because Jackson represented himself.
“I just think that it happened in the normal course, that it was meant to happen the way it did for whatever reason,” DeCosta said. “Hopefully – honestly, I have to say – I hope I never have to be a part of that type of negotiation again because of the time, because of the emotional aspect, because Lamar is such a special player and what that means to our club and to this city.”
He said there were some times during the process when he wondered whether the end would ever come and whether he had done everything he could to expedite it and “make everybody happy”
“Sometimes, you just need time,” DeCosta said. “Sometimes these things can happen in two weeks, and sometimes it takes two years. This was on that scale. I know that our appreciation and love for Lamar has really never wavered, but it was business as well.”
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