NFL

Baltimore Ravens place non-exclusive franchise tag on QB Lamar Jackson

By Sports Desk March 07, 2023

The Baltimore Ravens have placed a franchise tag on Lamar Jackson, but there is no guarantee he will be their quarterback in 2023.

The Ravens gave Jackson the non-exclusive franchise tag on Tuesday, meaning he is free to negotiate with other teams.

If he signs an offer sheet with another NFL team, the Ravens have the option of matching it to keep Jackson or decline it and receive the other team's 2023 and 2024 first-round draft picks as compensation.

Had the Ravens placed the exclusive franchise tag on Jackson, he would have been locked up for the 2023 season by Baltimore and received a guaranteed salary of $45million.

The 26-year-old, who represents himself without an agent and just completed the final year of his rookie contract, also has the option of signing a one-year franchise tender to play for the Ravens in 2023 for a guaranteed salary of $32.4m.

The decision for the Ravens to place the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson and not work out a long-term deal differs greatly from what the team was indicating less than two months ago.

Just days after the Ravens' 2022 season ended with a 24-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card round, both general manager Eric DeCosta and coach John Harbaugh told reporters that they were determined to keep Jackson.

"Lamar Jackson is our quarterback," Harbaugh said on January 19. "He's been our quarterback. Everything we've done in terms of building our offense and our team, putting people around him, is based around this young man, his talent, his ability and his competitiveness.

"I'll have my fingers crossed and my toes crossed, I'll be saying prayers, I've every faith it's going to get done. Eric wants him here, I want him here, [owner] Steve [Bisciotti] wants him here and Lamar wants to be here. It's going to work out."

When asked if Jackson would be Baltimore's Week 1 starting QB next season, DeCosta added: "I don’t see any reason why he won't be."

Now that the Ravens have given him the opportunity to hit the open market, there is a distinct possibility he has played his final game for Baltimore.

The 32nd overall pick of the 2018 draft, Jackson ranks second in Ravens' franchise history in passing yards (12,209) and passing touchdowns (101) and was the league MVP in 2019.

His last two seasons, however, have been mired by injuries, as he missed five games in 2021 and the final five of 2022 due to a knee injury.

Related items

  • Eagles lock up wide receiver Smith through 2028 Eagles lock up wide receiver Smith through 2028

    The Philadelphia Eagles locked up wide receiver DeVonta Smith through the 2028 season on Monday.

    Philadelphia exercised its fifth-year option on Smith for the 2025 season and agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension that runs through 2028.

    Smith’s extension is reportedly worth $75million, including $51million in guaranteed money.

    Philadelphia selected Smith with the 10th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft after he won the Heisman Trophy with Alabama in 2020.

    Smith was the first wide receiver to win the Heisman since Desmond Howard in 1991 and first non-quarterback or running back to capture the honour since cornerback Charles Woodson in 1997.

    Smith has caught 240 passes for 3,178 yards and 19 touchdowns in 50 regular-season games while adding 27 receptions for 405 yards and a TD catch in five postseason contests.

  • OJ Simpson: Cherished star whose fall from grace was seen live by millions on TV OJ Simpson: Cherished star whose fall from grace was seen live by millions on TV

    From cherished American superstar to villain whose murder trial captivated a global audience, OJ Simpson’s fall from grace was startling.

    Simpson, nicknamed ‘The Juice’, has died at the age of 76 after losing his battle with prostate cancer, leaving behind four children.

    Before the low-speed car chase by police and ‘Trial of the Century’ that began the unravelling of his reputation, Simpson was a darling of American sport who had also carved out a successful acting career.

    He was raised in a low income neighbourhood in San Francisco and joined a local gang but his athleticism offered a route out and he found his purpose in gridiron.

    A prolific running back, he starred for USC and in 1968 won the Heisman Trophy awarded to the outstanding player in college football. Inevitably, he was first overall draught pick the following year.

    Progress in his first couple of seasons at the Buffalo Bills was slow but his impact grew and he went on to become one of the most successful operators in his position, winning the NFL’s most valuable player in 1973 and being inducted into the hall of fame in 1985.

    He became the game’s highest paid player and lucrative commercial deals also followed as companies looked to leverage his charisma and popularity, while his acting career included parts in blockbusters ‘Towering Inferno’ and ‘The Naked Gun’.

    For all his film presence he was little known outside the United States but that changed for all the wrong reasons when he was arrested in 1994 for the murder of his former wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman.

    Brown and Goldman had been found stabbed to death in LA and once police had filed charges, Simpson refused to turn himself in and was pursued in an extraordinary car chase that was at low speed because he had a gun pointed to his head.

    The event was televised live to millions and projected his notoriety worldwide, with the broadcasting of his subsequent murder trial only intensifying interest in this fallen star.

    He was acquitted the following year but a civil lawsuit found him liable for the deaths, resulting in an order to pay £26.7million pounds to the victims of the families. Only a fraction of that amount was actually paid.

    Arrests followed for a variety of offences in the early 2000s and his lowest point eventually came in 2007 when he was charged with armed robbery and kidnapping.

    He served nine of a 33-year jail sentence and upon his release he continued to live in Las Vegas, looking increasingly frail when in public but active on social media. Simpson always maintained his innocence of the murders.

  • OJ Simpson dies aged 76 OJ Simpson dies aged 76

    OJ Simpson has died of cancer at the age of 76.

    Simpson was a running back for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers from 1969 to 1979, before being acquitted of murder in a trial in the mid-1990s.

    News of Simpson’s death was announced by his children on his X account.

    “On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” read a statement.

    “He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace. -The Simpson Family”

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.