Baltimore Ravens are fully committed to Lamar Jackson
After years of failing to surround then-franchise quarterback Joe Flacco with proper support, the Baltimore Ravens have done exactly that for Lamar Jackson.
The Baltimore Ravens are looking to reload rather than rebuild around quarterback Lamar Jackson. To best do this, it is important that the team shows no expense in giving Jackson all the help he can get. After all, we have already seen how a career can be wasted by ignoring this ideology…
One of the biggest critiques of the career of Ozzie Newsome as the Baltimore Ravens General Manager was his unwillingness to provide support to Joe Flacco. It doesn’t help that the few times he did, he failed miserably. Newsome sure knew how to build a defense and draft studs late in the draft, but he never found success getting his quarterback the tools he needed to flourish.
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Still, that didn’t stop Flacco from having an above-average career, including a Super Bowl XLVII title and MVP. But, what could’ve been? What if Baltimore ponied up and gave Flacco the necessary tools to continue his success? We can only wonder, but thankfully it appears that the front office might have learned their lesson.
A pledge to support their franchise:
After a promising rookie season, Lamar Jackson is now firmly the team’s leader and future of the franchise. To reward this, the Ravens went out and gave him some weapons to help him to progress in year two, as well as to get the most out of his talents.
Baltimore signed Pro Bowl running back Mark Ingram this off-season and drafted Justice Hill in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft to give Jackson a competent backfield to run with. They will join second-year runner Gus Edwards, who had much success with Jackson in the second half of the season.
With the running game established and now well-rounded, Baltimore needed to get their young quarterback some more options to throw to. Through the 2019 NFL Draft, they did just that in the forms of wide receivers Marquise Brown and Miles Boykin. The wide receiver core is still far from ideal, but these two can build a rapport early in Jackson’s career and become building blocks around him.
Add in a solid offensive line and talented tight end Mark Andrews and suddenly it appears that the Baltimore Ravens are committing to Lamar Jackson in a way that they (unfortunately) never did for Joe Flacco. This decision will prove to be a wise investment considering the rawness of Jackson’s game. It’s a sight for sore eyes to see the Ravens realize Jackson’s potential and decide to do everything they can to help him succeed in the NFL.
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Whether it’s fair or not, the Baltimore Ravens have decided to make proper investments in Lamar Jackson that they never gave to Joe Flacco. It’s unfortunate that it took the organization this long to get it right, but at least they’ve finally turned it around. Perhaps now, Baltimore will find more substantial, long-term success with Jackson because of their commitment to improving him.