On March 7, the Baltimore Ravens announced that they placed the nonexclusive franchise tag on quarterback Lamar Jackson after the two sides could not reach a long-term deal.
The nonexclusive franchise tag gives the Ravens a chance to match an offer sheet if Jackson decides to sign with another team. Baltimore would receive two first-round picks if it chose not to match.
Former NFL general managers Mike Tannenbaum and Randy Mueller believe that applying the nonexclusive tag was the right move.
“I don’t know if they have to match anything,” Tannenbaum said on Glenn Clark Radio March 9. “Now they can say to Lamar, ‘Go out there and see what you can get. If something comes along that is compelling to you, you should sign it and we’ll go from there.’ I’ve been in that situation before. Sometimes when you are in a dynamic where two sides have been working on a deal for a year, deal fatigue sets in.”
“This would have been the route I would have chosen as well, so I really can’t be critical of the Ravens,” Mueller said on Glenn Clark Radio March 9. “I think it’s the move they had to make.”
Jackson, 26, is a dual-threat quarterback who can beat a team with his arm and legs. The 6-foot-2, 212 pound quarterback has run for 4,437 yards and scored 24 touchdowns on the ground throughout his five-year career. Jackson has also thrown for 12,209 yards and 101 touchdowns.
Jackson does not have an agent representing him, complicating the negotiations.
“Once they [applied the nonexclusive tag], my first reaction was I hope Lamar finds an agent, somebody that can help him navigate these waters,” Mueller said. “It is one thing to negotiate with your employers who you’ve been with for years. It’s another thing to negotiate on multiple levels with multiple people who you have zero relationship with.”
A few quarterback-needy teams have already made decisions at the position. The New Orleans Saints signed free agent Derek Carr. The Seattle Seahawks re-signed Geno Smith. And just hours after the free-agent negotiation period started, veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo found a new home, reuniting with his former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas.
Plus, shortly after Jackson was given the nonexclusive tag, it was reported that a number of teams — including the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Miami Dolphins and Washington Commanders — would not pursue the former NFL MVP.
“I think they are taking a stance because they don’t want the media speculation to be a detriment to what they’re trying to do, so that’s why they’re trying to put it to bed,” Mueller said. “For everybody else, it’s a stylistic approach that a lot of NFL offenses, it’s not the best fit. That’s all.”
Jackson played out the fifth-year option on his rookie contract in 2022. The former first-round pick is scheduled to make about $32 million on the franchise tag in 2023. Should Jackson remain with the Ravens, the two sides would have until mid-July to agree to a long-term deal. If that does not happen, Jackson would play on a one-year deal.
“I don’t know what the last deal was, but I’m sure that Lamar Jackson’s last, best offer from the Ravens had a ton of guaranteed money,” Tannenbaum said. “Somebody else, I’m sure at some point, is going to fully guarantee a deal, much the way Kirk Cousins got one and Deshaun Watson did. Everyone’s going to do what they think is in their own best interest.”
For more from Mueller, listen to the full interview here:
For more from Tannenbaum, listen to the full interview here:
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