Before Tuesday’s deadline, the Baltimore Ravens put the franchise’s non-exclusive tag on star quarterback Lamar Jackson. Certain. The Crows now have until July 17 to work out a long-term extension with Jackson.
A non-exclusive tag is different from an exclusive tag. This offseason, Jackson is free to negotiate with other teams, but the Ravens have the right to match any offer. If Jackson agreed to sign with another team and Baltimore refused to match the offer, Jackson’s new team would send first-round picks to the Ravens. The non-exclusive tag is about $13 million lower than the exclusive rating, coming in at $32.4 million.
Following this development, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta A statement was issued Saying that Baltimore will continue to negotiate with a star quarterback:
“After we did not come to a long-term agreement with Lamar Jackson, we will use the franchise. There have been many cases around the league and in Baltimore when a player was franchised and signed a long-term deal the same year. We will continue to negotiate in good faith with Lamar, and hopefully “We can strike a long-term deal that is fair to both Lamar and the Ravens. Our ultimate goal is to build a championship team that will lead Lamar Jackson down the road for many years to come.”
Jackson went 8-4 as a starter in 2022, and threw for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He injured his knee in Week 13, and missed the remainder of the season while Tyler Huntley took over. This was Jackson’s second consecutive season ended due to injury, as he suffered an ankle injury in 2021 that sidelined him for the last four games.
Jackson was selected by the Ravens with the final first-round pick in 2018 from Louisville. The Ravens range in age from 45 to 16, and Jackson has been the starter since 2018, 8 to 13 without him. Those 45 wins are tied for sixth with 61 regular season starts by any quarterback since 1950.
In 2019, his first full season as the Ravens’ starter, Jackson became the second-youngest player in NFL history after throwing for 3,127 yards, 36 touchdowns, and only six interceptions, while adding an additional 1,206 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. Jackson already has the fifth-most rushing yards by a quarterback in NFL history with 4,437 yards. He owns two of the four 1,000-yard rushing carries by quarterbacks all time.
The Ravens and Jackson have been negotiating a deal for over a year now, with the main issue being securing funds. Last season, the rival Cleveland Browns handed Deshaun Watson a fully guaranteed five-year contract of $230 million. In the negotiations, Jackson reportedly tried to sidestep her, per ESPN.
While Jackson received this franchise tag designation, it goes without saying that his off-season is far from over. The NFL world is anxiously awaiting what happens next.
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