Reacting to Ravens GM DeCosta words on QBs, Lamar, Trey Lance: "Just bad reporting"

There was something smelly about the news emerging last weekend speaking of the Baltimore Ravens passing on trading a silly-cheap fourth-round pick in exchange for a franchise quarterback. Turns out the smell was real, as Ravens GM Eric DeCosta confirmed Baltimore wasn't interested in landing him.

DeCosta held a 15+ minute press conference on Friday following the last practice of your Baltimore superheroes before the weekend, and he was asked about a plethora of topics.

One of those questions (asked by Jamison Hensley of ESPN) was about a possible clarification of the rumors emerging last week about a potential interes of the Ravens in trading for former 49ers quarterback Trey Lance, who ultimately landed in Dallas to play for the Cowboys.

"That's just bad reporting. If somebody calls you and asks if you're interested in a player and you say no, does that mean you're interested in that player? It's just one of those things. I think there's a lot in terms of Cui bono. Who does it benefit? And when you see a report like that … We've got good quarterbacks, we love our quarterbacks, [and] we weren't looking to add any quarterbacks at all this training camp is what I would say on that."

- Eric DeCosta, Baltimore Ravens GM

Uh, oh, EDC. The GM of the Ravens clarified the situation with a single, stout swoop, simply saying "That's just bad reporting."

According to the GM's version of the story, the San Francisco 49ers would have approached Baltimore ("if somebody calls you and asks if you're interested in a player") but the Ravens would have said no to that proposition.

This makes the whole situation even more dumbfounding, though. The Ravens could have traded a low, mid-round draft pick to land an excellent QB2 and avoided all of the transactions and maneuvers they have had to complete in the last few days.

Baltimore named Tyler Huntley, who is nursing a hamstring injury and won't (most probably) be available for the matchup against Houston next, as Lamar Jackson's main backup. They cut Josh Johnson, then re-signed him on Thursday to have him around in Week 1 and while Huntley completes his rehab.

Meanwhile, Lance will be smoothly backing up Dak Prescott in Dallas, TX. No drama, wild transactions, or anything. In exchange for a fourth-round pick. Sheesh.

"Lamar's attitude has been excellent this year. I think last year was a challenging year for a lot of reasons, obviously, just where he was with his contract. This year, it's just [his] attitude [and] his enthusiasm has been fantastic. He's throwing the ball very, very well. He's been able to build a great rapport with the receivers very, very quickly. He's taking care of his body. He seems really into the offense – he's excited about it. He has an awesome relationship with his coaches, and he worked very hard this offseason with some of the receivers that we brought in, which is awesome to see. I think it's showing off, and it's going to pay dividends for us."

- Eric DeCosta, Baltimore Ravens GM

At the end of the day, the Ravens have three quarterbacks in their 53-man roster but no clear backup. Starting in 2023, teams can dress 49 players instead of 48 if the additional body plays QB.

Asked about how the Ravens will tackle that new rule, DeCosta thinks "every team is going to attack that differently," acknowledging that Baltimore's situation is "complicated a little bit by the health of our quarterbacks."

EDC revealed that the Ravens "weren't looking to add any quarterbacks at all this training camp," and he also said "Lamar's attitude has been excellent this year," following the five-year, $260 million contract extension the franchise player signed with the team earlier this year.

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