Lamar Jackson says he was injured by the Ravens’ playoff loss as he was forced to defend why he missed it amid Baltimore contract saga … admitting it would have been ‘selfish’ to play
Lamar Jackson has defended his absence from the Ravens’ first-round playoff loss last year, saying it would have been “selfish” to play injured as his contract saga now drags on.
Jackson sprained his knee on December 4 and was initially predicted to miss two to three weeks, but ended up missing six when Baltimore was defeated by the Bengals 24-17 in the wild card round.
The quarterback was criticized at some corners for not playing through pain. even by Michael Vick — and left some wondering if his absence from the postseason was because he hadn’t yet gotten the long-term contract he wanted.
With Jackson, who was placed on the non-exclusive label earlier this month, still seeking that deal, he took to Twitter Tuesday to defend his reputation.
“I don’t remember sitting on my guys week 1 vs. jets to week 12 vs. Broncos,” he said. “How come I suddenly feel out for money that I could have hurt myself at any time within that time frame when we know the Super Bowl has been on my mind since April 2018?”
Lamar Jackson responded to the idea that he sits out in the playoffs because of his contract.
Jackson (right) said on Twitter that he had requested to leave the Ravens on March 2.
‘Let’s be realistic. I’d rather have 100% PCL than go out there and play horrible forcing myself to put my guys in a bad spot now that it’s selfish for me.
Jackson revealed Monday that he had requested a trade from Baltimore on March 2, though there doesn’t appear to be a mass market for the 2019 MVP, who is allowed to trade with other teams because of his non-exclusive tag.
In addition to the price it would take to get Jackson in a trade, Colts owner Jim Irsay commented on a significant barrier to signing him as a free agent.
In an interview with The Athletic’s Zak Keefer, he said, “As an owner, I don’t believe in fully guaranteed contracts.”
“I think a percentage is one thing, but from what I’ve seen in the NBA and baseball, I don’t see it as a positive from a competitive standpoint.”
ESPN previously reported that Jackson was seeking a fully guaranteed contract.
Also, at least one owner has doubts about its durability.
In addition to missing six games last year, he also missed the last four games of 2021 with an ankle injury.
“Looking at it objectively, there’s some concern about whether or not he can play his style of play for … how long that can last,” Falcons owner Arthur Blank told reporters, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh has said the team is still planning around Jackson.
‘I’m not sure. She is only 26 years old. Hopefully, a long time for the benefit of him or anyone he signed with. But he has missed five to six games each of the past two years. This isn’t like baseball and basketball, where you play 82 or 182 games, or whatever baseball is now.’
However, it appears the Ravens plan to move forward with Jackson.
The Ravens’ coach said this week that we “love” the quarterback and that they were “thinking about Lamar all the time.”
“We’re building our offense around that idea,” he told NFL.com. “I’m looking forward to getting back to football and I’m confident that it will happen.”