Why isn’t Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson showing up for the start of offseason workouts?
With contractual negotiations already at a standstill and speculation intensifying, it goes without saying that the QB’s latest move will only further fan the flames.
As much as it will raise eyebrows, Lamar Jackson’s decision to not attend the start of offseason workouts will likely not come as a surprise to many. Consider for a moment that Jackson is still an unsigned free agent and the workouts themselves are voluntary i.e., his absence as a non-exclusive franchise tag player was expected.
Lamar Jackson opts out of voluntary workouts with Ravens
According to reports on Monday, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has decided that he won’t be attending the team’s voluntary workouts. Given that Jackson’s contractual situation remains unresolved it’s par for the course that he’d make such a choice. Consider for a moment that there is the risk of injury, meaning that any appearance would have to be covered by a letter of protection to insure that should any injury occur, he would be compensated by the team. Regardless, what’s clear is that the situation between the signal caller and the franchise has not progressed. Ultimately, until a deal is agreed upon and a contract signed, it’s all but certain that we won’t be seeing the former MVP out on the practice field.
Truth be told, it may well come to pass that Jackson actually decides to leave the team entirely. This is something that the team appears to have prepared for, when we consider that by placing the non-exclusive franchise tag on him, they can effectively keep him at a guaranteed $32.4 million for the time being. Of course, teams can still negotiate with Jackson but there is some degree of protection. It’s interesting to note, that Baltimore didn’t opt to apply an exclusive tag on the 25-year-old which would have prevented him communicating with any other team. On the other hand, it would have guaranteed him $45 million.
What’s Lamar Jackson’s position?
In terms of chronology, Jackson requested a trade on March 27th via a social media post. At that point, the feud between him and the team has already been well documented. Yet, there are two things that we’ve seen since which change the narrative somewhat. Firstly, there is the fact that no team has shown any real interest although we’re dealing with one of the league’s top quarterbacks. There are likely two main reasons for that: The first being his less-than-ideal record of injuries recently and the second being the not-so-small amount of guaranteed money that teams would have to cough up to get him.
Then, we have the second development and that’s the arrival of friend and Super Bowl winning wide receiver, Odell Beckham Jr. Indeed, Jackson took to social media to enthusiastically endorse his team’s signing of the wide out and interestingly enough we saw Beckham do the same. Does that mean things are fixed? Who can say? On the other hand, with both players having previously and publicly discussed the idea of joining forces for a Super Bowl run, it would suggest that the Ravens are interested in granting their signal caller’s wishes. Ultimately, it would be jumping the gun to read Jackson’s decision to not show up for training, as a concrete sign that he’ll be leaving the team. Conversely, it’s probably safe to say that time is running out.