One week into the NFL’s free agent signing period, and the Baltimore Ravens have yet to receive an offer for quarterback Lamar Jackson.
The Ravens put the non-exclusive franchise tag on the former league MVP, which allows other teams to make him an offer that Baltimore can match.
Ravens are in the driver’s seat
If Baltimore declines to match an offer sheet, they would receive two first-round draft picks from the signing team. It’s also possible the Ravens could negotiate a straight trade with another club. However that would require Jackson to sign the tag before a move could be made.
With free agency underway, teams have begun using their available cap space to sign players. That alone could complicate talks for Jackson. The Ravens have already budgeted the non-exclusive tag value of $32.4 million into their cap for next season.
And while there hasn’t been a firm offer sheet given to Jackson apparently three new teams have expressed interest in the 26-year old signal caller.
Chicago Bears and Tennessee Titans interested?
The Bears have an enormous amount of cap space ($32.4 million), so it’s likely they’ll be mentioned in every rumor. But they’ve already got a #1 QB in Justin Fields.
Tennessee has kicked the tires on a Jackson deal.
The Titans are fourth in the league with roughly $17.3 million in cap space. This doesn’t necessarily prevent a trade because teams can always build a low-cap number into a contract for this season to fit Jackson in. Plus trading or releasing Ryan Tannehill would save them another $17.8 million this year.
Vikings have a QB but Jackson could be an option?
The Vikings are in a much more difficult spot because they’re already $1.8 million over the cap. Since they restructured Kirk Cousins’ deal last week to clear $20 million in cap space, it would cost them $48.8 million if they tried to move on from him this season.
Is Jackson’s price too high?
It’s been reported that Jackson is looking for a massive deal that rivals or exceeds that of DeShaun Watson’s $230 million dollar deal in Cleveland. And Jackson recently said he turned down a three-year, $133 million contract from Baltimore that was fully guaranteed. Reportedly it was part of a five-year deal that included other non-guaranteed money.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
