The Ravens plan to keep their mouths locked and have thrown away the key when it comes to questions about star Lamar Jackson.
The Baltimore Ravens know Lamar Jackson is the hottest trending topic surrounding the team right now. They just don’t want to talk about him.
In a recent press conference, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta and head coach John Harbaugh fielded questions about the upcoming NFL Draft, making it clear that they wanted to focus on draft questions and nothing related to Jackson’s contract saga.
One rogue reporter hijacked the presser (Was he hired by Jackson? Perhaps) and strayed away from the “draft only” line of questioning to apply some unexpected pressure on the Ravens brass.
He asked about Lamar Jackson’s status and whether the Ravens were looking at quarterback prospects differently in light of Jackson’s situation; he managed to squeeze most of his question in before an annoyed Ravens PR representative tried to redirect the topic of conversation.
Jackson is clearly a touchy subject in Baltimore.
Ravens punt question about Lamar Jackson’s status at recent presser
In the Ravens’ defense, reporters were explicitly told to focus on the draft. Asking a question about Jackson was bound to make the situation tense and awkward as Jackson remains one of Baltimore’s most pulsating pressure points of the offseason.
A week ago, Jackson himself ambushed his team by posting a weeks-old trade request on social media at the same time his coaches were holding a media meeting.
Just for once, the Ravens organization would probably like a little regularity and consistency. No more blindsiding moves, please.
The rogue reporter nonetheless got a succinct answer from DeCosta, who said the team isn’t changing their draft board with Jackson’s status still up in the air.
Baltimore holds the No. 22 overall pick, and unless they trade up in the draft, the team has little chance of nabbing one of the top 2023 quarterback prospects. On the off chance Jackson does leave the Ravens, it feels more likely that Baltimore would trade for a veteran stop-gap rather than take a chance on this year’s subpar quarterback class.
In the event of emergency, backups Tyler Huntley and Anthony Brown have been retained and could see meaningful snaps next season.
As John Harbaugh said in a previous presser, however, the team is planning to have Lamar Jackson as its starter in 2023. The deal will get done, they say, over and over again.
They’ve made their stance crystal clear, and reporters would do well to respect their wishes moving forward.
