Lamar Jackson’s future remains to be very unknown and on Monday the quarterback introduced that he requested for a commerce from the Baltimore Ravens. One possibility for Jackson are the New England Patriots and proprietor Robert Kraft just isn’t ruling it out.
Kraft informed reporters that rapper Meek Mill texted him three or 4 days in the past to let him know that Jackson needs to be a Patriot. Kraft didn’t say the 26-year-old could be in Foxboro subsequent yr, however he additionally didn’t say it is out of the query. Kraft introduced that it’s as much as head coach Bill Belichick (per Karen Guregian).
Meek Mill carried out at Kraft’s marriage ceremony, the 2 have frolicked on Super Bowl weekends and Kraft visited the rapper in jail whereas advocating for his launch and the 2 have a transparent friendship that has lasted for years.
Jackson has not confirmed the place he needs to go, however has mentioned that the Ravens aren’t “fascinated by assembly [his] worth” and he needs a staff that can.
The quarterback obtained a non-exclusive franchise tag this low season, which means he can negotiate with different groups and the Ravens have an opportunity to match any supply, or obtain two first spherical picks in the event that they determine not to not match. The state of affairs appears to have gone from dangerous to worse between Baltimore and Jackson and the chance of him in purple and black subsequent season is changing into slimmer by the day.
Belichick didn’t give a lot away on whether or not he’s wanting to herald Jackson. When requested if he would “envision a state of affairs the place the Patriots would pursue” Jackson, he gave a blunt reply, saying (per Mike Reiss), “I’m not going to speak about gamers on every other staff.”
When pressed additional, he was adamant about not commenting.
“Period,” he mentioned when being reminded that Jackson is a free agent.
The Patriots had Mac Jones as their starter final season on a struggling offense. Kraft talked about that the staff is making adjustments that can set Jones up for fulfillment and famous that he’s within the constructing daily. If it’s not Jackson, Jones will doubtless get the beginning nod, however even that isn’t assured. Belichick mentioned (by way of NFL.com), “Everybody will get an opportunity to play. We’ll play the perfect participant,” when requested if there may very well be a contest between Jones and backup Bailey Zappe, who bought an opportunity to play briefly final season.
Last season, Jones went 6-8 within the 14 video games he performed in and began. He accomplished 65.2% of his passes for two,997 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Comparing him to the opposite quarterback in dialogue, Jackson performed in 12 video games in 2022, with an 8-4 document, 62.3 competitors proportion, 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Jackson’s resume contains an MVP, first-team All-Pro honors, two Pro Bowl picks and he was the NFL’s passing landing chief in 2019. Jackson has confirmed he could be a menace on the bottom and within the passing recreation. He has some playoff expertise, showing in 4 video games with a 1-3 document.
New England’s quarterback state of affairs has been a rollercoaster since future Hall of Famer Tom Brady left and having a confirmed successful quarterback once more would elevate their offense.
