The dark cloud hanging over the Baltimore Ravens right now is the uncertainty surrounding the future of quarterback Lamar Jackson.
He will be a free agent next month, and it is unknown whether the team will trade him or apply the franchise tag in order to keep him for at least one more season.
When the Ravens hired Todd Monken to be their new offensive coordinator on Tuesday, they reportedly didn’t “fully integrate” Jackson when it came to the process of deciding who to hire.
Per sources, it’s my understanding that the Ravens did not fully integrate QB Lamar Jackson into the hiring process for their new offensive coordinator.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) February 16, 2023
All season long, the contract status of Jackson has hung over the team.
He is their face, and if he were to leave, it would likely trigger what could be a long and painful rebuilding process.
Baltimore finished 10-7, which earned them a wild-card playoff spot, but it ended up losing by a touchdown to the Cincinnati Bengals in its first postseason contest.
Some feel the Ravens should not give Jackson a large long-term contract since he’s a running QB and there is a sentiment that that type of signal-caller isn’t too reliable due to their style of play.
Jackson suffered a sprained PCL in his knee in Week 13 that forced him to miss the last five games of the regular season, as well as the playoff loss to Cincinnati, during a season in which a number of dual-threat QBs got injured.
The Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray tore his ACL around the same time, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts missed two games with a hurt shoulder and Trey Lance of the San Francisco 49ers missed almost the entire schedule with a severe ankle injury.
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