Rapoport: 'Sense' Is Lamar Jackson Will Get Exclusive Franchise Tag from Ravens

It seems like Lamar Jackson will be with the Baltimore Ravens for the 2023 season.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport made an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday and said his "sense" is that the AFC North team will place the exclusive franchise tag on the quarterback.

While placing the exclusive tag on Jackson will cost the Ravens more, Rapoport pointed out it eliminates the possibility that exists under the non-exclusive one that another team could negotiate a deal with him that Baltimore would then have to match.

If it chose not to match the deal, Baltimore would receive two first-round draft picks. However, Jackson would likely land more than that in a return package in a potential trade, which would be an option for the Ravens with the exclusive tag.

How the team proceeds with its franchise quarterback is one of the biggest storylines of the entire offseason.

Jackson added more intrigue when he posted a cryptic message to his Instagram story after the Ravens lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in the playoffs:

Another layer is his health, as the two-time Pro Bowler missed Baltimore's last five regular-season games with a knee injury and was then sidelined for the postseason loss to Cincinnati.

He provided an update on Jan. 12 revealing the PCL grade 2 strain was a "borderline" grade 3 strain with continued inflammation, which is why he couldn't take the field in the playoffs.

While the Ravens have won just one playoff game since selecting Jackson with a first-round pick in the 2018 NFL draft, his resume includes a league MVP and the two Pro Bowl selections. He is one of the best dual-threat playmakers at the position in league history and is still just 26 years old.

It would follow that Baltimore would want to keep him on the roster and continue to build around him, but how it goes about doing that this offseason remains to be seen even if things are apparently trending toward the exclusive tag.