ICYMI

The Ravens organization and their fans are holding out hope for a deal with Lamar Jackson. Considering Baltimore has the 22nd pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and $32.4M in cap space tied to Jackson’s non-exclusive franchise tag as we enter the free agency frenzy, the return of their 26-year-old former MVP is likely their only avenue to remain competitive in the near future. Taking a look at the timeline of the last 2 years of stagnant contract talks, it’s hard not to think Lamar might just want out of Baltimore.

• January 2021: Ravens express interest in exploring a contract extension.

• March 2021: Ravens GM Eric Decosta admits to having just a “couple talks” with Jackson.

• April 2021: Ravens exercise Jackson’s 5th-year option, Decosta assures Baltimore would “work tirelessly to get a deal done.”

• May 2021: Jackson hints at “something happen[ing] pretty soon.”

• October 2021: “No progress was made” on contract talks, per Pro Football Talk.

• January 2022: Lamar Jackson posts cryptic message on social media, which many interpreted as a criticism of the Ravens organization.

• March 2022: Deshaun Watson signs a fully guaranteed $230M contract with Cleveland

• May 2022: Jackson skips OTAs for the first time in his career, after publicly stating he would attend.

• September 2022: Lamar Jackson declines a 5-year, $250M contract extension, which would have paid him more than Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray.

• September 2022: Jackson provides a deadline for contract talks and elects not to negotiate after the start of the 2022 season.

• January 2023: Jackson receives criticism from teammates and fans for ruling himself out of the wild card game against the Bengals. Furthermore, Jackson does not travel to the game due to an illness.

• February 2023: Negotiations remain stagnant. Baltimore places the non-exclusive franchise tag on Lamar Jackson, allowing all NFL teams to negotiate with Jackson.

Obviously, things are in a stalemate. While Baltimore’s brass seems to maintain outward optimism for the fanbase, it doesn’t appear to be a mutual feeling. If this boils over, what’s the best-case scenario for All-22 managers rostering Lamar Jackson?

Where does Lamar Gain the Most All-22 Value?

Washington Commanders

The Washington Commanders, the same organization that hasn’t had a franchise QB since Joe Theisman, are trying to sell you on how much they love their 2022 5th-round QB Sam Howell. The Commanders want you to believe that they won’t make a play on the 2019 league MVP in favor of a QB who played just one, meaningless game in week 18.

I’m not buying that, are you?

Washington has created a near-perfect environment to bring in Lamar Jackson and, if you have Lamar on your All-22 team, you may want to keep your fingers crossed that he makes the short move to the nation’s capital.

In February, Washington went out and hired Eric Bieniemy. Say what you want about his time in Kansas City, but the fact remains, Bieniemy was the offensive coordinator for perhaps the most explosive offense in league history. Obviously, Lamar Jackson’s skill set is a bit different compared to Patrick Mahomes but it’s fun to imagine what Bieniemy could do with yet another elite athlete under center.

Washington boasts an outstanding group of speedy young WRs - among the Commanders’ top-3 receivers (Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, and Curtis Samuel) Dotson’s 4.43 40 time is the slowest of the group. Even with a revolving door at the quarterback position, none of these receivers posted a PFF grade below 70 in 2022. The running backs aren’t so bad either. Without the presence of a running quarterback, Brian Robinson Jr. posted the 8th-highest PFF grade at the position in his rookie season with an 82.5 overall grade and an 81.0 run grade. Of the three quarterbacks Washington started in 2022, none of them earned a PFF passing grade above 61.5, yet Antonio Gibson still posted an impressive 80.5 receiving grade. Washington’s tight ends are nothing to write home about but, in case you haven’t heard, this draft class is loaded at the position.

What good are the weapons if there’s no offensive line? The Commanders’ offensive line isn’t as bad as it may look on paper and, as of writing this article, they’ve already added two pieces to compete for starting roles; OG Nick Gates and OT Andrew Wylie. There’s obvious familiarity with Wylie and Bieniemy from their time in KC, so expect him to compete with 31-year-old Cornelius Lucas for a starting role. In 2021, Nick Gates was set to establish himself as a key piece on the interior offensive line in New York. After a stellar performance in week 1, Gates suffered a devastating leg injury in week 2. Coaches often talk about implementing a culture on the offensive line - if you’re unfamiliar with Gates’ story and unconvinced that he can establish a culture of toughness on Washington’s offensive line, then I’d recommend you take some time to familiarize yourself with his inspiring comeback story.

Outside of their new additions, the unit will look to return Chase Roullier, Sam Cosmi and Charles Leno Jr. Washington will hope Roullier, who struggled with injuries in 2022, can return to his 2021 form as PFF’s 4th highest-graded center. Cosmi, who also dealt with nagging injuries in 2022, had some outstanding games to start the season - through week 11, Cosmi’s PFF grades never dipped below 68.2. The 24-year-old has the flexibility to play both tackle and guard, so look for Cosmi to solidify himself on Washington’s O-line in one way or another. Leno, now 31, has played over 1,000 snaps at LT over the last 5 seasons. Time is certainly undefeated but, in 12 of his 17 starts in 2022, Leno posted respectable PFF pass blocking grades above 70 and an overall 71.6 grade on the season. Before the end of the free agency frenzy, and ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft, Washington has 6 starting caliber players along the offensive line. At the very least, there’s reason to be optimistic about this unit.

With a serviceable offensive line, arguably the best play caller in the league, and an elite group of weapons like he’s never had before, Lamar’s 2019 MVP season in which PFF graded him at a career-high 90.1 could become the norm - that’s fun to think about. Don’t expect me to believe that Ron Rivera, Martin Mayhew, and Eric Bieniemy aren’t having the same daydream.