Lamar Jackson injury history: Analyzing former NFL MVP’s terrible luck amid contract controversy 

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson headlined NFL news on Tuesday after being franchise tagged. The team elected to use the non-exclusive franchise tag on the former MVP.

Baltimore couldn't reach an agreement with Jackson on a long-term deal before yesterday's franchise tag window closed at 4:00 PM, forcing the tag.

He is set to earn $32.4 million this season and still has the chance to still hammer out a long-term deal with Baltimore.

There are rumblings that Jackson wants a similar contract to Deshaun Watson, who received a five-year $230 million deal that was fully guaranteed by the Cleveland Browns last season.

Baltimore is reluctant to award a QB like Jackson for that kind of deal due to his wear-and-tear style of play and injury history starting to pile up.

Jackson has endured five injuries throughout five seasons in the NFL. In 2015, he missed one game while in college at Louisville with a pedal ankle sprain.

His first injury in the NFL came in 2020 when he had a patella sprain in his knee that forced him to miss practice ahead of the Ravens' Week 5 matchup vs. the Bengals. He still played against the Bengals that week.

He suffered a concussion during the 2021 divisional round game vs. the Buffalo Bills on January 16, 2021.

At the start of the 2021-2022 season, he suffered a sprained lower back and missed practice that week but still played against the Denver Broncos in Week 4.

A little over two months later, he suffered a pedal ankle sprain in Week 14 that shut him down for the remainder of the season.

In the 2022 season, Jackson had a knee sprain to his PCL, which forced him to miss the final six games of the season, including the wildcard matchup between their rival, the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Lamar Jackson deserves to be extended

Baltimore Ravens v Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Lamar Jackson absolutely deserves to be extended.

We live in a world where Kyler Murray got a $230 million deal with $189.5 million guaranteed. Jackson is 45-16 as a career starter while Murray is 22-23-1.

Lamar Jackson also has a few playoff victories under his belt, led the league in passing touchdowns in 2019, and won a unanimous MVP.

Quarterbacks Derek Carr, Geno Smith, and Daniel Jones all got new contracts this week that are all worth more than $35 million per season.

Jackson certainly deserves more money than these guys and will keep fighting to get the best possible deal that he can get.