It’s perhaps one of the NFL’s more well-known debates. As gifted a runner as Lamar Jackson is, how do the Baltimore Ravens make a decision not to allow him to use his legs and feel good about it?
The former MVP’s ability to scramble is one of his best weapons as a signal-caller and on certain plays, makes him impossible to defend.
There’s always a downside to being a dual-threat quarterback though. Linebackers in the NFL are 6-foot-5 and run the 40-yard dash in under five seconds. At the risk of sounding disrespectful, no one wants to see Lamar take off and get injured like former Raven Robert Griffin III.
A quarterback’s best friend is a good running game, one that he hopefully won’t have to lead in rushing, and the latest move by this Ravens squad may assist Jackson in putting himself in harm’s way less often.
The Ravens promote Devonta Freeman to the active roster
Musical chairs at the running back position for Baltimore continues as, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, via Drew Rosenhaus, the Ravens are promoting Devonta Freeman to the active roster from their practice squad.
He joins a rotation that already features Ty’Son Williams and Latavius Murray, the latter of whom has been here for about six days at the time of this story being written and published.
Williams and Murray combined for 93 yards on 19 carries and scored two touchdowns in Week 1 for the Ravens in a hard-fought loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Freeman, for the uninitiated, spent six seasons in Atlanta with the Falcons and tallied 4,207 yards on 1,018 carries, another 2,212 yards on 273 receptions, and racked up 49 total touchdowns (those numbers include what he’s done in the postseason) before spending a forgettable five games with the New York Giants a season ago.
He clearly isn’t what he once was, but it may not matter. As part of a three-headed monster at running back with this Ravens team and without the pressure of having to be ‘the guy,’ this is someone that could make significant contributions to Baltimore’s offense.