NFL Rumors: Lamar Jackson Was Eyed by Raiders, Panthers Before New Ravens Contract

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was reportedly not heavily pursued by other teams during the offseason while he was under the non-exclusive franchise tag, but at least two teams expressed some interest.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Las Vegas Raiders and Carolina Panthers both inquired about Jackson, but neither of them made a significant push, nor did they come close to signing him to an offer sheet.

Ultimately, Jackson and the Ravens came to terms on a new five-year, $260 million contract, and Jackson has established himself as an MVP contender and Baltimore as arguably the NFL's top team at 12-3.

Jackson, 26, was the NFL MVP back in 2019, and he now has a chance to join an exclusive club as a multi-time MVP.

While Jackson's numbers pale in comparison to what he did in 2019, he has had a solid statistical season, completing 66.3 percent of his passes for 3,357 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions, while also rushing for 786 yards and five scores.

Most importantly, Jackson is leading the NFL team with the best record in the league, and he has them positioned to potentially go on a deep playoff run.

Remarkably, there was a time during the offseason when it looked like Jackson and the Ravens were heading for a divorce, as Lamar publicly declared in March that he had requested a trade.

Both sides were eventually able to work things out, though, and a lack of interest from other teams may have contributed to Jackson and the Ravens sticking together.

There is little doubt that the Raiders and Panthers would be better teams right now with Jackson in the fold, but both of them went in other directions to address the quarterback position.

Las Vegas released Derek Carr during the offseason, ending his nine-year run as the team's starting quarterback, and it replaced him with veteran free agent Jimmy Garoppolo.

The Jimmy G experiment fell flat, as he went 3-3 as a starter and completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 1,205 yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Once the Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels and replaced him with interim head coach Antonio Pierce, the decision was made to bench Garoppolo and start rookie fourth-round pick Aidan O'Connell.

While O'Connell has exceeded expectations as a starter with a 4-4 record and 1,675 passing yards to go along with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions, he likely isn't a long-term answer in the same way Jackson is.

The Panthers made a huge move in March, acquiring the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft from the Chicago Bears for a bevy of draft picks and wide receiver D.J. Moore.

Carolina used the pick to select Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, who put up huge numbers and was a Heisman Trophy winner in college.

There is still plenty of time for Young to develop into a quality NFL quarterback, but he has gone through some significant growing pains, going just 2-12 as a starter and completing 59.7 percent of his passing attempts for 2,671 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine picks.

Like the Raiders, the Panthers also fired their head coach, as they parted ways with Frank Reich just 11 games into his tenure.

Given that the Panthers play in the NFC South, which is the worst division in the league, it is fair to wonder if they could have won the division this season had they signed Jackson and kept Moore.

Instead, the Panthers will enter the offseason still in the thick of a rebuild and without their first-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft due to the trade with Chicago.