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Lamar Jackson has had his fair share of detractors since the Baltimore Ravens drafted him in the first round of the 2018 draft. One critic went the extra mile to criticize the Baltimore quarterback, questioning his ability to play the position.
Former NFL safety Bernard Pollard Jr. said that no top wide receiver in the NFL would want to play with the quarterback because he cannot make throws.
Pollard wrote on Twitter:
"No TOP [wide receiver] will ever come there while LJ is there. Plenty of WRs have been available to get in the off-season while LJ has been starting, but nobody wants to go. They give him the respect, but they don’t want to play with him. LJ is good but he’s not able to make the throws."
The Ravens signal-caller responded to the former NFL safety, saying that Pollard has been "capping." He also said that he had never heard of Pollard and that the safety rode on the shoulders of Hall of Famers Ed Reed and Ray Lewis:
"You been cappin since I been playing for the ravens I never heard of you tbh my boy you got your Super Bowl cause of ray Lewis and Ed Reed that year."
The exchange of words continued between the two as Pollard stressed that facts were facts.
"Facts are facts. Make sure you call me Champ. Good luck getting one!"
In response, Lamar Jackson tweeted that no one talks about Pollard and that he had to Google him to find out who he was:
"Never... nobody speak of you... I had to Google you lil bra... I never heard of you until I seen you keep dissing like you was a [Hall of Famer] BUT YOU [far] FROM IT ACROSS THE OCEAN LIKE OVERSEAS."
Pollard played nine seasons in the NFL, the first three of which were with the Kansas City Chiefs (2006-2008).
After spending the next two seasons with the Houston Texans (2009-2010), Pollard played for the Ravens from 2011-2012. As mentioned earlier, he won his only Super Bowl in the 2012 season with Baltimore.
The safety played the final two seasons of his NFL career with the Tennessee Titans (2013-2014).
How did the beef between Lamar Jackson and Bernard Pollard start?
ESPN NFL analyst Ryan Clark questioned why Lamar Jackson was not on ESPN's list of top-10 quarterbacks considering his overall statistics and the fact that three former MVPs were included.
The Ravens quarterback won the AP NFL MVP award in the 2019-20 season. That season, he led the NFL in passing touchdowns with 36 while throwing for 3,127 yards and nine interceptions. He also finished sixth in the league with 1,206 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
What's more, he broke the NFL record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single season in 2019, surpassing Atlanta Falcons' Michael Vick's 1,039 yards in the 2006 season.
The following season, Jackson rushed for 1,005 yards, making him the only quarterback to have two 1,000+ rushing seasons in a career.
The 25-year-old will look to lead the Ravens to the Super Bowl this coming season.
