Hollywood Brown Says Narrative on Ravens' Lamar Jackson is 'Ridiculous'

Former Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown got his wish when he was traded to the Arizona Cardinals, but he wants to make it clear that quarterback Lamar Jackson had nothing to do with his decision.

Brown took to Twitter and called the notion that Jackson was the reason he wanted out of Baltimore as "ridiculous."

Jackson showed his appreciation for Brown coming to his defense with a simple response:

The Ravens deploy a run-first offense centered around Jackson's dual-threat skills. While Jackson is a talented passer, he averaged just 240.2 passing yards per game, which ranked 13th in the league, last season before being earning his second Pro Bowl nod.

The fifth-year quarterback has faced some criticism for his reliance on his running ability. Former Ravens safety Bernard Pollard Jr., who last played for Baltimore in 2012, tweeted on Wednesday: "No TOP Wr will ever come there while LJ is there. Plenty of WRs have been available to get in the off-season while LJ has been starting, but nobody wants to go. They give him the respect, but they don’t want to play with him. LJ is good but he’s not able to make the throws."

Despite the Ravens offense that led the league in rushing yards, Brown managed to set career highs last season with 91 receptions and 1,008 receiving yards to go with six touchdowns. He will have a major opportunity to boost his production with the Cardinals after being traded on the first day of the draft.

Brown and Arizona star quarterback Kyler Murray were college teammates at Oklahoma, and the two of them spent time together this offseason. Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury recently said Brown has quickly acclimated himself to the team's offense.

"I'd say, comparatively speaking, if you're talking about a guy who didn't know the quarterback or didn't play in a similar system and didn't get to work out with him and hear the calls, see the signals, I would say he's way ahead of the curve when it comes to that," Kingsbury said.

Arizona receiver DeAndre Hopkins is suspended for the first six games of the season because of a violation of the league's performance-enhancing drugs policy. Brown will be thrust into the No. 1 receiver role right away, giving him the chance to shine in an offense better tailored to his skills.