Collusion or Practical Business

Collusion.

Collusion is a term often aimed at NFL owners by players, former players and of course the NFLPA and its Executive Director DeMaurice Smith. They use it regularly when market conditions fluctuate in a way that don’t align with their collective goals and objectives. Collusion can also be a convenient excuse, used in a similar way that under-qualified job applicants point to unfair hiring practices when their skills and experiences aren’t even in the same area code as the job requirements.

Collusion has been kicked around regularly by all of the above and many in the media when the subject of Lamar Jackson’s elusive long-term contract is brought up. I’m not buying it. Nor should you.

Let’s consider teams with voids at starting quarterback, that could potentially have interest in Lamar, at the right price of course, entering this offseason, along with alternative solutions that they’ve opted for:

• Dolphins: Tua Tagovailoa (no first-round pick in 2023)
• Raiders: Jimmy Garoppolo
• Texans: No. 2 overall pick
• Falcons: Desmond Ridder, Taylor Heinicke
• Panthers: Traded for No. 1 overall pick
• Bucs: Baker Mayfield
• Saints: Derek Carr

Other possible landing spots for Lamar include the Jets, Commanders, Colts and long-shots like the Lions and the Titans. Let’s consider each.

The Jets are far, far down the road with Aaron Rodgers. A trade is imminent, but then again, nothing about Rodgers is predictable. Maybe he goes into the dark for a couple more days and emerges with thoughts of being an actor. He certainly understands drama. But $60M per is hard to walk away from.

The Lions are an ascending franchise with QB Jared Goff, who played well down the stretch in 2022. The Titans are in transition, even contemplating moving Derrick Henry and they have just $6.9M in available cap space per Over The Cap. They could part ways with the underwhelming incumbent Ryan Tannehill which would trigger a cap savings of $17.8M. The Titans would need to do a bit more cap maneuvering to make room for Lamar and to address any other roster requirements.

The Falcons are a bit of a wild card.

From what I’ve been told, the football people in Atlanta aren’t exactly enamored with the prospects of Lamar donning their crimson and black. There are doubts about his long-term fit and they question his career path. Can he develop as a passer to offset the natural declination of his running skills as he ages?

Falcons owner Arthur Blank will spend freely if he thinks a player can boost his franchise. If he wants Lamar, Blank possesses the power of persuasion and could talk said football people into an LJ Era in Atlanta. Do they have any other choice?

The co-founder of Home Depot is one of the league’s most well-liked owners and shares a tight relationship with commissioner Roger Goodell. And given that relationship, it would be a bit of a stretch for Blank to become the second owner to extend a fully guaranteed deal to a player – to be the author (no pun intended) of the bookend to Deshaun Watson’s $230M fully guaranteed deal. Blank won’t want to slide a blank check across the table to Lamar and make negotiations for his league contemporaries more challenging going forward.

As for the Commanders, Ron Rivera, in a recent interview on NFL Network, said that they are not in on Lamar. Rivera is generally recognized as a straight-shooter. The Commanders signing Jacoby Brissett to a one-year deal supports that notion.

Reporters on the Commanders beat aren’t even considering the possibility of Lamar to Washington. That said, Daniel Snyder is a wild card in the DC mix and who knows where his head is. There are some who believe that Snyder could exact a bit of revenge against fellow owners by fully guaranteeing a big QB deal before he vacates the owner’s chair. But let’s not forget that Snyder has some serious allegations to deal with. Should he be spending his time being vindictive towards his colleagues? Might that then undermine his character even more and make it more difficult to minimize the damage of the charges brought against him? Dan has some bigger fish to fry – before he gets fried.

New #Commanders QB Jacoby Brissett’s one-year deal:

$4.5 million signing bonus
$3M fully guaranteed base salary
$500K workout bonus
Up to $2M in playtime incentives

Base: $8M.
Max: $10M.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 16, 2023

And that brings us to the Colts.

The general consensus on the Indy beat indicates that Jim Irsay would NOT be willing to do the fully guaranteed deal. He’s experienced first-hand, the challenges of injured franchise quarterbacks like Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck. It’s also believed that the Colts want to draft and develop their own guy. Lastly, an interesting side note, Irsay I’m told really likes Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti and may be unwilling to put the screws to a respected colleague.

Is that collusion or genuine consideration for a trusted partner?

Adding Lamar to a new roster isn’t all that easy. Besides the incredible financial hurdles given his demands, there are challenges that come with a Jackson-led offense. He isn’t your prototypical quarterback. The so-called unicorn requires special treatment in the way of scheme and personnel. And that only happens with additional investment.

Given the complexities of the situation, just because teams pass on the opportunity to sign Lamar, it doesn’t spell collusion. That’s no more than a convenient excuse for an inconvenient situation, perpetuated by the NFLPA.

If only Lamar had an agent…

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