Why the Ravens Should Consider Moving on From Lamar Jackson

Doug Gottlieb: “I want you to think about this for a second. We’re told there are a couple of reasons why the Niners are going to move on from Jimmy Garoppolo at the end of this year, and what are those reasons? He’s never healthy and always missing time, he has this ability to turn the football over at inopportune times, and there seems to be a ceiling – maybe it’s the Super Bowl, and maybe it’s the NFC Championship where he didn’t actually have to throw the football. The Niners are like ‘he can only get us to a point and we can’t break that point.’ Now let’s take Lamar Jackson. Lamar has been better than what most anyone would have thought coming out. Lamar Jackson last year had a come-from-behind win in the playoffs, which was something he had not yet done, but there does appear to be a ceiling for how far he can take you. We heard last year ‘YOU GOTTA GIVE HIM MORE WEAPONS!’ Then this past offseason they went out and got a talented wide receiver who’s often hurt in a Sammy Watkins. They also drafted in the first round a wide receiver in Rashod Bateman, and they have another first-round receiver in Hollywood Brown. In terms of weaponry, Mark Andrews is a tremendous pass-catching tight end, Bateman is a freak talent, Brown can take the top off a defense, and Watkins, although he wasn’t what he was billed to be coming out as a top 10 pick, that dude is a big target with good hands, and a guy where if he’s your third-best option, you’re pretty good… I think Baker is done in Cleveland, and I thought the biggest question in future contracts was going to be with Baker Mayfield, but what about Lamar Jackson?? He’s had better supporting talent on offense than he’s ever had, less the running backs I’ll grant you that. The division – Pittsburgh is not as good as they’ve been, Cleveland is not particularly good, and although Cincinnati is good and they smashed Baltimore twice, in terms of the AFC North, it usually is a much better division of what it is this year. This is his worst year throwing the football. He’s thrown the most interceptions yet he has better weapons around him than he’s ever had. The last two years he’s been hurt. He’s had COVID twice but he’s also been hurt twice. There seems to be some sort of ceiling with Lamar, at least to this point, in the playoffs. There’s some ‘Garoppolo’ to it. Garoppolo went to a Super Bowl, this cat did not, and Garoppolo had a very good defense that year, and the Ravens have had a great defense in years past. As much as Lamar’s been championed for not having an agent, his mom is his agent, that’s not always a good thing. I wonder what the Ravens’ future with Lamar looks like. John Harbaugh and the front office by their words seem to be completely in, but wouldn’t this be doubling down on a guy, who although a complete freak talent and a guy who is by all accounts the leader of that franchise, isn’t he hurt? Plus, running quarterbacks get hurt more often, and eventually they lose that step and now they get hit more often. And oh yea, by the way, you’ve used all your resources to put a great offense around him, and you haven’t gotten better output. Isn’t there that same ceiling that sits there as there is for Jimmy G? What the Ravens do in the offseason with Lamar’s contract is as interesting as what the Packers do with Aaron Rodgers, and more interesting than what the Browns do with Baker Mayfield.” 

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