NFL Execs Name New Team the Dark Horse in Signing Lamar Jackson as Trade Saga With Ravens Continues

The Baltimore Ravens may just end up losing their star quarterback, Lamar Jackson, after playing a little too fast-and-loose this NFL free agency. After placing the non-exclusive franchise tag on the 26-year-old, Jackson was not exactly popular among other teams. No team was reportedly interested in giving the QB an offer. However, it seems that the Ravens may end up regretting their decision, now that a few franchises are interested.

The non-exclusive tag enables Lamar Jackson to talk to other interested teams. However, the Ravens will still have the right to match any offer that the quarterback gets or get two first-round draft picks from this year in return. And ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler thinks the latter looks more likely.

Which teams could end up landing Lamar Jackson?

Fowler discussed the possibility of two franchises in particular who could trade their picks away for the Heisman-winning quarterback. With the current draft batch of star college quarterbacks like Bryce Young, C J Stroud, and Florida’s Anthony Richardson, the ESPN reporter thinks all hell can break loose after the fourth pick in the draft when the top QB options run out.

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“Maybe it’s Indianapolis at No. 4. If they don’t get their guy, they could pivot to Lamar Jackson and give up two first-round picks to acquire him. We just talked about the Jets. If for some reason the Aaron Rodgers trade would fall through, although nobody expects that, they could pivot to Jackson,” Fowler analyzed. The NY Jets and Green Bay Packers are still negotiating the correct compensation package for Aaron Rodgers. And it’s hard to cross out the Jets before that is finalized.

However, when Fowler spoke to some NFL executives, they seemed to think that Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings are also viable contenders to acquire Lamar’s services. “Tennessee just cleared some cap space. They have a new GM Ran Carthon, who’s working on the roster. And even a wild card like Minnesota. Kirk Cousins has one year left on his contract,” Jeremy added on Sunday morning’s SportsCenter telecast, as per Bleacher Report.

Who can afford Action Jackson?

The non-exclusive tag cost the Ravens a $32.4 million cap hit instead of the nearly $45 million for a franchise tag. And there are only a few chosen franchises in the league that have upwards of $32 million in cap room to get Action Jackson.

The Titans can clear an additional $17 million. That’s if they release starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill, in addition to their already fourth-highest cap space of $17.3 million. But it doesn’t look as easy for the Vikings, who are already $1.8 million above the cap limit.

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Lamar recently crushed the reports that said he turned down a $133 million three-year guaranteed contract from the Ravens. And with not many quarterbacks lefts on the open market, fans can expect an answer on the Louisville star pretty soon.