Irreconcilable Differences?

Who is to blame for this standoff between Lamar Jackson and his employer, the Baltimore Ravens?

That’s easy – both sides!

Back in 2019 when Lamar Jackson electrified the country on his way to becoming the league’s second unanimous MVP in NFL HISTORY, we all thought it was the start of something magical here in Charm City – magic that we expected to last for quite a while.

Sure, the Tennessee Titans did a number on the Ravens in that Divisional Playoff game back in January of 2020. In many ways, the Titans did the same thing to Greg Roman’s offense that the Chargers did to Marty Mornhinweg’s offense the season before in the playoffs. Simply put, they forced the Ravens to do something that they struggle to do consistently. Throw. The. Football.

But with an offseason to fix things, the Ravens would adjust, right? They would complement Lamar’s generational talents with the appropriate skill sets to lift the passing game, making the offense even more dangerous. Well, that didn’t happen. Despite the COVID setbacks, the Ravens rallied during the 2020 season, even got Lamar’s first playoff win, but the dream died along frigid Lake Erie when the Bills slammed the vaunted Ravens offense which put up a grand total of three points.

Fast forward to 2021 and another offseason to fix things. But before they could start fixing, more holes appeared. Orlando Brown, Jr. wanted out while Ronnie Stanley’s ankle surgery was botched, leaving him unavailable and struggling through the opener in Las Vegas. He would never play another down in 2021. Add in major injuries to J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Marcus Peters, and despite a heroic effort by Jackson to keep hopes alive through the first 11 games and a conference leading (8-3) record, the season soon began to circle the drain. And then Lamar, often running for his life, joined the ranks of the injured Ravens.

The Ravens vowed not to leave themselves so vulnerable across the offensive front again but as the 2022 NFL Draft approached, another Brown, another former Oklahoma Sooner, wanted out – Marquise Brown. So they traded Marquise and that made an unimpressive receiving corps even less impressive. The personnel mistakes made in 2021 at O-Line were repeated in 2022 only this time at wide receiver. And clearly Greg Roman’s passing scheme could not overcome the deficiencies in talent. If anything, Roman’s limitations served to exacerbate the problems.

Now, the Ravens are left with arguably the most pivotal decision to make in franchise history – what to do with Lamar Jackson?

The Ravens, organizationally, failed Lamar, and they failed themselves. Everyone knew, everyone knows that Lamar couldn’t keep up the pace he’s set as a running quarterback. The league has adjusted to his talents. Sure, he can still be an extremely effective runner, but to pay him the kind of money he thinks he’s worth, he has to develop as a passer. But the team has done next to nothing to help move the needle forward.

In 2021, it was the offensive line. In 2022, it’s a lack of talent at wide receiver and an offensive coordinator who is anything but coordinated when it comes to the passing game. They haven’t removed the question marks that contributed to Lamar’s slow development as a passer. Following the 2020 season they should have replaced Roman to see if he’s the problem. Following the 2021 season they should have added talent to the wide receiver room like the Eagles did for Jalen Hurts when they traded for A.J. Brown.

The Ravens did neither.

So here we are, 2 seasons later, wondering what Lamar’s worth is. Can he be a top 10 passer in the league? We still don’t know, but we do know that he wants to be the highest paid quarterback in league history. So what if the Ravens concede and they do make Lamar the highest paid QB of all time, despite the unanswered questions that scream, “You better not!”? How will they then afford to give him the surrounding talents he obviously needs? The team wasted the benefits of his rookie contract.

Paying him top tier coin now is like flirting with disaster for years. Why? Because we just aren’t sure if Lamar can play to that level of play and that’s on the conscience of the Ravens brass. We can’t project Lamar’s future as a passer because the team has wasted the last two years crossing their collective fingers while hoping for the best. Meanwhile, I hope to hit the Mega Millions, but I digress.

The best just hasn’t happened. It might not ever happen for Lamar in Baltimore. Perhaps that ship hasn’t sailed yet, but the first-mate is about to shout, “All aboard!”

And it’s not as if Lamar isn’t complicit in this debacle. Despite Roman’s limited system, or should I say puny vault, Jackson doesn’t do the things great quarterbacks. He struggles with the play clock (note that Tyler Huntley hasn’t had the same issues); he’s wildly inaccurate on deep passes; he doesn’t use the back-shoulder throw like big league quarterbacks do; he doesn’t throw receivers open – he just throws to open receivers (a big difference) and given Roman’s choreography, that’s about as common as John Harbaugh speaking the truth about injuries.

Now, off the field drama is rearing its ugly head, perhaps in part because the Ravens have been so secretive about what Lamar does on his own time. Rumors about his work ethic and alleged poor habits as they relate to film study, eating and sleeping have crept their way into the world of social media. Maybe they’re true, maybe they aren’t. But with the Ravens zipping their lips and with Lamar sans representation, we just don’t know.

What we do know is that this entire situation is fraught with unorthodox behavior that leaves us not knowing who or what to believe. So we connect the dots of speculation and make it our own truth, because no one else is telling it to us.

Today, Wednesday, Lamar missed another practice, his 13th consecutive session. This was an injury that was to last 1-3 weeks. John Harbaugh back on December 7, when asked about Lamar’s status for the Week 14 game in Pittsburgh, said:

“He’s been through the MRIs, and I would say it’s kind of week-to-week. It’s going to be a weekly thing, so as the week goes on, we’ll see for this week. It’s probably less likely for this week, but it’s not impossible. Then after that, it will become more and more likely.”

A month later we still don’t know anything. A month later, Harbaugh now chooses to simply dodge the questions about Lamar’s availability.

Jonathon Cooper (@JonathonCooper7) chases down Lamar Jackson for 6-yard sack | Broncos at Ravens#sharksports pic.twitter.com/m3W2B2dZO4

— Shark Sports Management (@ManagementShark) December 5, 2022

Prior to the NFL Network’s presentation of the Ravens game in Cleveland on Saturday night, December 17, Rich Eisen who was handling play-by-play for the broadcast, sat with the Ravens brass before the game, as the announcers normally do to prepare. Eisen, as he explains in the video below, was told that Lamar didn’t want to play with a knee brace or even take the field until he was 100%.

Rich Eisen: “I don’t know what’s going on…bc when I spoke with Ravens [in WK 15], they were saying, ‘We’re gonna get Lamar back next wk. He could’ve played now but he doesn’t wanna play with a brace. He doesn’t want to do this [or] that until he’s 100%.’”pic.twitter.com/EQA3DY4A98

— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) January 3, 2023

As of today, he’s still not 100% and it’s unlikely that he’ll take the field in Cincinnati. Maybe he doesn’t even travel with the team. Sunday will mark the 5th full game he’ll miss in 2022, matching the same total from 2021. That’s 29.4% of all games played during the last two seasons. Not ideal for a franchise quarterback looking for the game’s biggest paycheck. Not ideal for a running quarterback who has shown signs of slowing down and no signs of progressing as a passer.

In his defense, Lamar has played at less than 100% before, but seeing Roman’s offense and it’s precipitous drop off when he isn’t playing, and, it’s heavy reliance upon his skillset, maybe he just doesn’t want to risk his future earnings. Maybe he sees that this offense is going nowhere even with him. Maybe he’s sending a message to the team.

Maybe he just wants out.

And maybe that’s exactly what needs to happen.

The Ravens and Lamar have had 5 years to get this right. They’ve collectively failed. The “play” clock has expired and it’s no longer fourth-and-short.

These “analytics” suggest it’s time to punt.

[Related Article: The “P-Word”]

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