The Trade of Lamar Jackson: What are the Ravens really losing?

I’m sure by now you have heard that Lamar Jackson asked to be traded on March 2.  When I first heard the news today, I felt like someone who learned their partner had broken up with them weeks before and never told them.  But then I realized something…mainly that Lamar, as talented and brilliant as he can be, is also a narcissist and a locker room distraction.  

Throughout the past season, Jackson did all he could to distract the Ravens, ghosting them at times, including the Wild Card playoff game in which he did not fly with the team to Cincinnati.  The season-ending injuries he suffered each of the last couple of years were both initially reported as minor injury but supposedly worsened over time.  My question is, was Lamar exaggerating his injuries because has frustrated with the Ravens?  Just a thought.

Furthermore, Jackson’s stats have fallen from elite in his 2019 MVP season to merely good-to-very-good in the three seasons since.  His deep passing game his also declined considerably in those three seasons.  While Jackson’s running is highly valued, quarterbacks, especially the best ones, are supposed to know how to throw the ball.  Lamar has cleared 3,000 yards passing once in a season, the aforementioned MVP campaign.

There is also his playoff record.  In his much-vaunted MVP season, the Ravens, 14-2 and Super Bowl favorites, walked into their playoff opener against the Titans.  The Ravens got crushed, and Jackson threw two interceptions, and did not get a touchdown until his team was down 22 in the 4th quarter.  A year later, in another divisional game against the Bills, Lamar led the Ravens to all of three points and threw an interception returned 101 yards for a touchdown.  The Ravens, per page unironically played far better in their playoff loss to the Bengals with Tyler Huntley at quarterback.

This brings me to my last question: Do the Ravens need Lamar that much?  Is he that important to the team?  There were several times this season in which Lamar’s inaccurate arm let the team down, such as in the Jacksonville loss where he overthrow a wide-open receiver.  In the game against Denver where Jackson shredded his knee, the Ravens were struggling to move the ball, but Huntley led the drive to the game-winning touchdown.

The Ravens won their two Super Bowl with mediocre quarterbacks Trent Dilfer and Joe Flacco, as many as the Packers have in the last 30 years with greats Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.  In the 2000 season where one of the greatest defenses in NFL history carried Baltimore to the title, the offense went several consecutive games without scoring a touchdown!  The Ravens defense was ranked third in 2022, and kept Bengals star QB Joe Burrow under wraps for much of the playoff battle.  The Ravens were on the cusp of taking the lead and possibly winning with Huntley before a fumble at the goal line sunk the Ravens.

So, do the Ravens need Lamar all that much?  No, they don’t.  The Ravens need a quarterback who can throw and who can lead, and perhaps then, another Super Bowl title could be on its way to Baltimore.

Go Ravens!

Stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/

UPDATE: Lamar has been re-signed, and I am happy.