You can take the New England Patriots off the list of potential suitors for Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. Earlier in the week, Patriots owner Robert Kraft revealed that Meek Mill told him that Jackson wants to play for the team. Kraft said a decision would ultimately be made by Bill Belichick, and according to a report by Jeff Howe of The Athletic, it appears the team will eschew the chance to pursue Jackson and roll into the 2023 season with Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe.
According to Howe, “the price on Jackson in salary and draft compensation being too much of a non-starter.” Jackson received the non-exclusive franchise tag from the Ravens earlier this offseason, meaning he could agree to a deal with another team and, if Baltimore does not match it, go to them for the price of two first-round NFL Draft picks. But as Howe noted, the Patriots are in a position where meeting Jackson’s widely-reported high asking price for a new deal in a market set by Deshaun Watson’s contract with the Cleveland Browns is not appealing, no matter how they would go about acquiring him.
Via The Athletic:
The Ravens placed the $32.4 million franchise tag on Jackson, so the team still has its share of leverage in the matter. If the Patriots signed Jackson to an offer sheet, they would ship their next two first-round draft picks to Baltimore if the Ravens didn’t match the terms. Plus, for Jackson to agree to an offer sheet, the Patriots would almost certainly need to give him a contract worth far more money than they ever extended to Tom Brady.
So what about a trade? In theory, the Patriots could test Jackson’s true desire to link up, attempt to convince him to accept a far more affordable deal and offer the Ravens a trade package — say, three first-round picks — to get the Ravens onboard with such a move.
Jackson announced earlier this week that he requested a trade from the Ravens as the beginning of the month, one that has failed to materialize.
