Ravens GM Eric DeCosta expresses his desire to KEEP Lamar Jackson in Baltimore as he says trading him ‘has not factored in one time with me’… and is hopeful a deal can be struck
Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta has expressed hope that the team can come to an agreement on a long-term deal with superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Jackson’s future has been widely discussed as he is currently slated to be a free agent this summer with speculation over where his career is heading ramping up.
‘I covet great players. I covet quarterbacks. And I love Lamar,’ DeCosta said Wednesday.
He revealed he has not considered trading him, adding: ‘That has not factored in one time with me. We want to do what’s best for the club. We try to do what we can for Lamar. We want to make everybody happy.’
Both sides will have until Tuesday to reach an agreement on a deal or they will have to use the franchise tag to avoid Jackson hitting the open market.
Eric DeCosta has expressed optimism and said he hasn’t considered trading Lamar Jackson
Jackson’s future has been discussed as he is currently slated to be a free agent this summer
‘You can’t win in this league without a strong quarterback. I mean, that’s been proven,’ DeCosta said.
‘So, we want Lamar here. We think he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He’s certainly one of our best players, and we want him back. We understand that living in a world without a quarterback is a bad world to live in.’
Jackson wants a fully guaranteed deal much like the one Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson signed last year for $230million, reports ESPN.
DeCosta called it a ‘tough negotiation’ since the Ravens see the deal as an outlier while Jackson and the NFLPA see it as more of a new precedent.
Jackson is also one of the few stars in the league who is not represented by an official agent, which impacts talks.
Ravens coach John Harbough has remained ‘fervently hopeful’ a deal will get done and that he believes ‘200 percent’ that Jackson wants to remain with the Ravens going forward. He has also planned for Jackson to be with the team throughout interviews for a new offensive coordinator.
‘He’s my quarterback, he’s my guy,’ Harbaugh said. ‘I love him.’
If the Ravens have to use the franchise tag to keep Harbaugh’s guy in town it will take up a large portion of the team’s salary cap and impact their ability to fill other needs.
A non-exclusive tag would cost $32m, while an exclusive one would cost $45m.
If they cannot reach a deal by Tuesday the team will be forced to use the franchise tag on him
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