There has been a lot of talk about whether the Baltimore Ravens should trade Lamar Jackson or keep him this offseason. While most of the ideas are interesting, they are not factoring in the human element very much. There is a very real impact of what may happen when the Ravens let him go that not many are thinking about.
Should the Baltimore Ravens sign Lamar Jackson?
If the Ravens trade him, the players will think the team could trade anyone, no matter how they perform. Lamar Jackson is a former MVP and is the leader of the team. They go as he goes. So, if the team is easy to pull the trigger because he got injured, what does that say about any player who gets injured?
Rashod Bateman weighed in.
Rashod Bateman calls out his GM pic.twitter.com/cpFk57zken
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) March 2, 2023
There are so many takeaways from that quote, and many players came to his defense. One of the more fascinating aspects is that he included Lamar Jackson in the criticism. It is evident that the team is all-in with Jackson. A former first-round pick who has struggled to stay healthy is seeing a former MVP being dragged for struggling to stay healthy and is thinking his time is next.
That is not the message the Ravens want to send. Then, there were comments by Calais Campbell. He was pleading for the Baltimore Ravens to take care of Jackson because it is the right thing to do.
Calais Campbell on @nflnetwork on Lamar Jackson: “He wants to get a deal done and that’s the most important part. Sometimes guys who are part of a team and don’t want to be there anymore, use (free agency) as an opportunity to go elsewhere. But he wants to be (with the #Ravens).”
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 2, 2023
If Campbell, who has been in the NFL for so long, and is a leader so many is saying this, this will be spread around the locker room. If the Baltimore Ravens do not sign Jackson, it will show that even if they want to stay, the Ravens will move on the second they can.
That is not how you get team-friendly extensions done, and it is not the type of stuff you want to see before free agents make life-changing decisions.
On the flip side, maybe you pay a few million dollars more for Lamar Jackson than you thought. The goodwill could save you a million here and there for deals with other free agents and extension candidates. They do this because they want to stay with the team that takes care of their own.
It can be as simple as Jackson is not healthy, and the Ravens falling apart for two straight seasons, so they need to move on. However, the move-on may end up being a longer, more drawn-out process than some realize because of these implications.