in the snap of our fingers from Los Angeles to Baltimore. Where
the 2019 NFL MVP continues
to be absent
from the offseason program. Oh, yes, Lamar. We are going to
talk about you. I know you would like us to talk about
something else and we do and we have and we will. But for now,
Lamar Jackson
is the centerpiece of the discussion because a mandatory
minicamp is looming for the Baltimore Ravens. John Harbaugh
code to the team
addressing yesterday with reporters.
Whether he expects Lamar to be there here it is.
I expect me here mandatory minicamp, you know, he's
I know he's working hard.
You know, Marge X is a hard worker. So
I'm not worried about a hard. He's working
fully expecting to come back and great shape, you know,
that's what he talks about and
I'm sure he's throwing. I'm sure he's doing a good job and
when he gets back here will be rolling with Lamar, you know,
right now we roll two, guys, we got. And when he gets here,
he'll merge right? In
with everybody. And we'll go to work with them are
if you listen to that carefully,
the picture that
John Harbaugh is very
delicately painting.
With him
implicit
messages. They don't know what the hell's going on with Lamar
Jackson. They don't know if he's in shape, they don't know
what he's doing. He says he is,
we'll see,
we'll find out, we'll find out like the rest of you do. We
don't know what the hell sounds like, Mr. Jack say, isn't that
amazing? And that's amazing. And I know it, look, if
somebody decides to carve off a clip of the show
and put it on social media
and it goes kind of semi
Viral among NFL circles, and it lands on Lamar screen. He's
gonna get all pissed off. Look Lamar. This is your fault. You
have created
this wedge.
That no one can understand between yourself and the team,
you all say why you're not there. You won't say why you
won't take their money. You clearly won't take their money.
This is unprecedented.
This game is all about establishing yourself to the point where
you get Durational wealth, then you've arrived and everything
after that is house, money. Everything after that is gravy
and of all quarterbacks in the NFL right now.
With the exception, maybe of collar Murray
Lamar Jackson is the guy
who should be taking the money that team is trying to give him
because of the way he plays the position.
And yet, it's crickets. Not just for us. Yeah, for them
from all, do account for them. Yeah, too. Right? I can't,
I Don't know what advice he's gettin.
I don't know whether he's ignoring. Good advice or
getting bad advice or no advice and get mad at this. All you
want, Lamar. We have your best interest at heart. I don't
know. Who the hell else does
either the members of the Ravens because they have their
own best interest at heart? And their best interests are have
Lamar Jackson with the team as long as possible. But
this the reason we talked about this, the reason this is
a topic. The reason it's a story is because it is so unusual to
the point of Chris. Literally unprecedented. Yeah, I'm
pressing. Yeah, I mean it is. It's crazy. It really is.
And again, it's the guy that's the best player on their team.
The leader of the team who has great effect on their football
team is up there with anybody in the sport as far as like his
ability to
you know, rally the locker room. Guys. Love him. He's kind
of like an urban legend and hey, we got Lamar we can win
today. I mean, he has that effect and and it is it's,
you know, it
what I think is funny is kind of like what you're saying is
It doesn't sound like they have a definitive answer. Like they
don't know. You know I think you hey he'll be here at
mandatory minicamp. We talked to him.
Yeah he'll be here. Like they don't know you're right and
then you know the crazy thing is here to is I hear people on
TV going. Well he shouldn't step on the field until they
pay him like Mahomes.
They're trying to pay him like Mahomes.
So what do you do then what's your answer to that other
people on TV? They're trying to pay him on like that but he
won't. Won't engage in the conversation. So then where do
you place the blame
after that? Now it has to go back to Lamar again. The team
is trying
to appeal to him and the city and everybody to make it work
and he won't. That's where it's weird. And then I hear people
on TV saying he shouldn't show. They're trying to literally
back up the truck and go, here's cash
for the rest of your life. Boom.
Like here's a ton of it
and he won't take it
but then therefore
they're being penalized. Lives by him not being there. That's
where it's just weird. It doesn't make sense. And again,
yeah, we're rooting for Lamar and he has every right not to
be there. I get that, but I don't necessarily think that's
the best thing for him or
the Ravens.
I see three explanations for what's going on and Lamar feel
free to clarify
at any point which of these three
is the truth one.
He wants out of Baltimore.
Now, he's already pushed back against that, but that doesn't
mean it's the truth. People push back against things all
the time because they want to keep the truth. Can be told
what One
he wants out of Baltimore
to
he
wants a non-negotiable offer meaning. He doesn't want to
have to negotiate, we touched on this a few weeks ago. He
wants them to give him DeShaun Watson money, plus something
make him the highest paid player
in the NFL without him having to go back and forth.
I shouldn't have to engage you.
You should just come to me with an offer. That is obviously
the biggest contract any player has ever gotten and you can explain
to me how it is. And if it all makes Sense,
I'll sign it. I don't want a negotiated with you. That's
explanation to number three. He doesn't know what he wants. So
he's just buying time.
Those are the only three I can think of. Maybe there are others.
Anybody out there that has another explanation.
For what Lamar Jackson is thinking,
let me know at pro football, talk
on Twitter, or Florio pro football talk.com,
but that's it. Either he wants out or he wants them to back up
the truck and dumped more money than they have ever dumped on
anyone ever before in league history, without him.
Having to ask for more, that makes more three, right? He's
just, he's just buying time. He just it does make sense to me
that.
Hey, I want to represent myself, but I don't want to
negotiate because I really don't know how to negotiate.
But I want to represent myself because I don't want to pay
somebody to negotiate for me. I don't want to give somebody
a percentage, so it should be good enough. That I'm Lamar
Jackson
and you just offer me the best contract in NFL history.
See, he's not engaging them because he doesn't want to
engage them. He shouldn't have to engage them. That maybe his
mindset. They should just offer to make me out. Out of
the gates the highest paid player in league history.
And until they do, I'm not talking, maybe that's it. Maybe
it's that simple. Maybe it is. Maybe one of the three, he
wants out. He wants an easy and quick and
supreme contract, or he doesn't know what he wants.
Yeah. I mean, maybe you're right. I mean, and again, all
right, so then I go, let's go down that road. Do you think
that like he's
worthy of being that guy of going like, okay, just give me.
I'll just make me the highest-paid quarterback in
the history of football and will
I'll be done with it. Like
there's does he have the right to say that in your opinion?
What are your thoughts there?
Well again, it's not just wear the cap is I know. Cap is gone.
Yeah,
so every guy and we're slipping back into that old model of
a little bit next, right? Becomes the highest paid right
quarterback, but if we're going to do tears,
yeah, we this guy's on that tier. Yeah. This guy's in
the tier where it should be, you know, the hands working their
way up the baseball bat. That's what it should be. Yeah, if
he's in that.
Highest tier and he still is.
So the question is, how long will he stay
in that? Highest hear what protections will be there for
the Ravens in the event that the wheels come off of Lamar
Jackson and he can't run like he did
and he hasn't developed as a pocket passer
and now he's not in the top tier, that's their
risk, if they give him
a huge contract. But hey,
who's one of the guys?
Who complained publicly
about the DeShaun Watson
contract? Who's one of the owners who was one of the first
owners to complain publicly? Yeah, about the DeShaun Watson,
I was winning 30-ish mashhadi was guarantee con it was steep
shot. Yeah.
Right because you know what, if Lamar Jackson really is
just sitting and waiting
for the Ravens to give him the best contract ever.
It starts
with five years 230 million fully guaranteed, because
nothing they put on the table is going to be better.
Then DeShaun Watson and for all those other quarterbacks out
there who play at a really high level, and don't have 24
lawsuits pending against them
and who knows how many more to come and all this other
dysfunction in turmoil. Of course, they have a right to
sit back and cross their arms and say sorry, not good enough.
The guy with 20 for
sexual misconduct lawsuits is got 230
over five fully guaranteed
if he can get that.
We're not even starting the conversation
until we get there for me. So yeah, that's why Steve shot. He
was the guy who complained because the moment that
happened his life, got a lot more expensive as it relates
to, what he's going to have to put into
escrow on whatever contract they gives a little more Jacks.
Yeah, that would scare me.
I don't think I could give Lamar Jackson as much as I love him,
and I have loved him since he came out. I could not give him
five years. 230 million guaranteed. Yeah. Not without
so guarantees gonna be able to play for five years actually.
It's Too risky and I know as a guy that it's, he's been
Superman. I mean, he's the man,
it's still would scare me with the style of football, he
plays. Let alone style of football, you know,
maybe gonna wear down a little bit.
I think you can legitimately say that he wasn't running for
three flat this year. It was maybe 435 still really fast,
but do I think he lost a hair of a step? Yes, I do.
Okay. And then yes, for a guy that is not overly big,
you know, it's not a thing.
A human being, you know? Again, I think if people saw like
Patrick Mahomes and person they'd go damn. Yeah, he's 63.
But holy crap. He's got, you know, some shoulders and legs
and butt to him, Josh Allen. Yeah, he plays a
dangerous style of football
but Josh I was built like a huge middle linebacker.
It's a different guy and
we know with Mahomes and Alan
there's no questions either about them in the pocket and
making throws and decisions and doing all the right things.
Like if their athletic ability goes away, we know they're
still going to be top notch in.
Department. I think those are things that would Lamar,
it's good. It's better than people. Give them credit for
and everything there in that direction, but he's not of
their level in that department. And then I think, when you
weigh the risk factor and the we're down factor that would
scare the absolute store high in transit, for me of paying
him, 230 million guaranteed in five years.
And that's the key
because they would want to construct this. So,
for the world, it would be the biggest contract ever given to
Any NFL player but there would be outs
after two years, three years. Yeah in the event I think that
he is
dipping and the DeShaun Watson contract
prevents that from happening. I think we have talked our way
through the weeds here to kind of get to where we, maybe they
know
that, they're only going to get his attention. If they show up
with their bottom line, the better not going to be able to
negotiate to their bottom line, and they don't want to show up
with their bottom line because the bottom line is, they don't
want to give him.
Him 230 million, or more
fully guaranteed over five years because of how he plays
the position.