Should Lamar Jackson Have Accepted Ravens' Contract Offer amid Latest NFL Rumors?

Since Lamar Jackson received a non-exclusive franchise tag from the Baltimore Ravens, there's been tons of speculation regarding his future. And rightfully so.

The 26-year-old is set to make $32.416 million from the Ravens in 2023, assuming that he stays on the team. That's not a given, though, due to the franchise tag being the non-exclusive variety.

The NFL's other 31 teams are all free to give Jackson an offer sheet. If that happens, Baltimore would have five days to match it. If it doesn't, then he will be free to sign with that team, and the Ravens would receive two first-round draft picks as compensation.

As of now, there haven't been any reports of the Louisville product getting an offer sheet. So, he remains on the Baltimore roster for the time being.

The Ravens also have until July 17 to negotiate an extension with their franchise QB. If they don't, he'll stay on the team and make the aforementioned salary.

How did the situation get to this point? Well, previous reports indicated that Baltimore had given Jackson a decent-sized offer last fall. And now, those terms have been reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter.

On Monday, he told his Adam Schefter Podcast that the Ravens offered Jackson a contract with a guaranteed $133 million. That amount would have gone up to $175 million due to injury guarantees, and it would have increased even further to $200 million as long as the QB was still on their roster by the fifth day of the 2026 league year.

That seems like a pretty good offer, especially when you consider Schefter's point: The contract had more guaranteed money than Kyler Murray received from the Arizona Cardinals and more than Russell Wilson got from the Denver Broncos. Plus, Jackson's deal would have been worth $250 million total, per Schefter.

However, Jackson has reportedly been seeking a fully guaranteed deal. According to Peter King of Pro Football Talk, though, that's not something teams are eager to offer the 2019 NFL MVP.

"I can't find one team anxious to give him a fully (or nearly fully) guaranteed contract for four or five years," King wrote.

If that is the case, Jackson might have been better off accepting the Ravens' offer last fall. Because it's not a sure thing that he'll get another one that large, especially if he doesn't return to his early-career form.

Jackson showed what he's capable of during his 2019 MVP campaign, when he threw for 3,127 yards and 36 touchdowns and ran for 1,206 yards and seven scores in 15 games. But he's played only 12 games each of the past two seasons due to injuries.

Sure, it's possible a QB-needy team offers him the type of deal he's looking for. But the longer that that doesn't happen, the more it seems he should have more strongly considered Baltimore's last offer.

Of course, it's also possible the franchise tag works out in Jackson's favor. Josina Anderson of CBS Sports indicated that he would play on the tag if he's still on the Ravens and they haven't worked out an extension by the start of the 2023 season.

Should Jackson play on the tag and have a tremendous season, then it could raise his value heading into the next offseason. Perhaps that will lead to him getting an even larger (or more guaranteed) offer than what he's received thus far.

Still, it's hard to argue that he did the right thing by not agreeing to the Ravens' previously offered terms. He would have been getting quite a bit of guaranteed money, and he could have earned even more if he fared well and stayed healthy.

However, nobody will know for sure whether Jackson made the right decision until we see how this offseason (and possibly the next one as well) unfolds.