Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank suggested his franchise will not pursue Lamar Jackson over availability issues despite moving for Deshaun Watson a year ago, who was suspended for 11 games.
Earlier this week, Jackson - whose future has been one of the biggest storylines across the offseason - announced he had requested a trade from the Baltimore Ravens earlier this month on 2 March. The Ravens placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on the 26-year-old five days later, allowing teams to negotiate with Jackson while he and the team have until 17 July to agree a multi-year extension.
Other NFL franchises may sign the former MVP to an offer sheet but it seems unlikely Jackson will arrive in Atlanta. Last week, Blank claimed the superstar quarterback’s situation is ‘very different’ than Watson’s a year ago amid concerns over Jackson’s availability.
The Falcons were one of four teams to aggressively pursue Watson, who was embroiled in controversy. He missed the entire 2021 season and ended up being suspended for the first 11 games of the 2022 campaign as a result of his then-ongoing litigation due to allegations of sexual misconduct - but Blank remarkably appeared to suggest Jackson’s availability poses more of a headache than the baggage Watson carried.
“Different player, different time," Blank said at the annual owners meetings on Tuesday. “You have a winner (in Jackson), a MVP in the league. There's no question he's one of the top quarterbacks in the league.
“Looking at it objectively, I'd say there's some concern over how long can he play his style of game. Hopefully a long time… but he's missed five, six games each of the last two years. Each game counts a lot in our business.”
The comment is particularly intriguing as while Jackson missed time last season with a knee injury, Watson has suffered multiple torn ACLs. His availability didn’t deter Atlanta when they moved for the 27-year-old, who went on to sign a fully-guaranteed $230million contract with the Cleveland Browns.
Jackson reportedly wants a deal similar to Watson’s in terms of fully-guaranteed money, but the Ravens offers have fallen short of his expectations so far. He is available to negotiate and sign an offer sheet with any franchise, although Baltimore will be able to match any contract while they will be owed two first round picks from any suitor.
It is a lot of capital - and money - to give a quarterback, and the Falcons already feel they have a starter in Desmond Ridder. A rookie last season, Ridder completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 708 yards and a pair of touchdowns across his four games, winning two to seemingly clinch the starting role for the 2023 campaign.
Ultimately, his performances were encouraging enough that both owner Blank and head coach Arthur Smith believe the former Cincinnati quarterback can develop into a star rather than moving for one in the form of Jackson. Atlanta also signed former Washington Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke to a two-year deal worth $14m to act as Ridder’s backup.
