Before Tuesday’s deadline, the Baltimore Ravens placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on star quarterback Lamar Jackson. After failing to reach a long-term deal, CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones Confident. The Ravens now have until July 17 to work out a long-term extension with Jackson.
A non-exclusive tag is different from an exclusive tag. This offseason, Jackson is free to negotiate with other teams, but the Ravens have the right to match any offer. If Jackson agrees to sign with another team and refuses to match Baltimore’s offer, Jackson’s new team will send two first-round picks to the Ravens. The non-exclusive tag was nearly $13 million less than the exclusive designation, which was $32.4 million.
Following this development, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta issued a statement Baltimore will continue to negotiate with its star quarterback:
“Since Lamar Jackson did not reach a long-term deal, we will use the franchise tag. There have been several instances in the league and in Baltimore where a player has been designated with the franchise tag and signed a long-term contract. We will continue to negotiate with Lamar in good faith and work out a long-term deal that is fair to both Lamar and the Ravens. We believe we can build. Our ultimate goal is to build a championship team led by Lamar Jackson for many years to come.”
Jackson went 8-4 as a starter in 2022 and threw for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He suffered a knee injury in Week 13 and missed the remainder of the season while Tyler Hundley took over. It marked the second straight season for Jackson, whose 2021 was ended by an ankle injury that sidelined him for the final four games.
Jackson was selected by the Ravens with the final pick of the first round in 2018 out of Louisville. The Ravens are 45-16 with Jackson as the starter since 2018, and 8-13 without him. Those 45 wins are tied for sixth-most in 61 career regular-season starts by any quarterback since 1950.
In 2019, his first full season as the Ravens’ starter, Jackson became the second-youngest MVP in NFL history after throwing for 3,127 yards, 36 touchdowns and just six interceptions, adding another 1,206 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. Jackson already has the fifth-most rushing yards by a quarterback in NFL history with 4,437 yards. He owns two of the four 1,000-yard rushing campaigns by quarterbacks all-time.
The Ravens and Jackson have been negotiating a deal for more than a year, and the main issue has been guaranteed money. Last season, the rival Cleveland Browns offered Deshaun Watson $230 million with five years fully guaranteed. In the negotiations, Jackson reportedly tried to break it off. to ESPN.
It goes without saying that even though Jackson has earned this franchise-tag status, his season is still far from over. The NFL world is eagerly waiting to see what happens next.
