Patrick Queen already getting ahead of the awful Lamar Jackson takes
Jackson's teammates are rallying around him, but none more than his linebackers.
By Ryan Heckman
Sunday afternoon, the Baltimore Ravens saw their season come to an end.
After entering the playoffs as the conference's number one overall seed, the AFC Championship Game came to a close with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs taking home the win over these Ravens.
There were several self-inflicted wounds on the Ravens' side of things, including a disastrous interception thrown in the end zone by Lamar Jackson. But, to blame Jackson's mistake for an afternoon of struggles would be silly. In fact, to blame Jackson for the loss, in general, would be silly.
Following the game, teammates showed their leader some love and offered no blame toward Jackson. But, linebacker Patrick Queen seemed to take this one personally for his friend and quarterback.
Patrick Queen had Lamar Jackson's back following the AFC Championship Game.
Patrick Queen said he was playing to get Lamar Jackson the recognition he deserved, and that’s why it hurts so much. He said a lot of narratives about Jackson are not deserved and they wanted to help him rewrite the script.
— Giana Han (@giana_jade) January 28, 2024
Regardless of the narratives revolving around Jackson, the fact is, the man is probably going to win his second MVP award and just turned 27 years old. Criticize all you want, but we're still talking about one of the best players in the game today.
The support for Jackson came in strong following the game, and both standout linebackers had their quarterback's back. Roquan Smith played the criticism off pretty quickly, calling Jackson the leader of this team.
Roquan Smith on the outside criticism of Lamar Jackson: "Who cares, honestly? ... He's the leader of this team."
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) January 28, 2024
Back to Queen, one more time.
One other layer to this is the fact that Queen is a free agent this year, and the Ravens are likely to let him walk. The team already paid Roquan Smith big money, and they drafted Trenton Simpson in the third round last year, presumably to try and groom into Queen's replacement.
This could be Queen's last run alongside Jackson, sadly.
As for the Ravens, as a team, they enter an offseason with the 30th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and are 21st in cap space, currently, per Spotrac. There will be some decisions needing to be made on guys like Queen and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. with limited financial flexibility.
Smith, after the game, may have hit the nail on the head when he said "We'll be back, but it'll be a process."
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