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Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens continue to negotiate a contract and it is not going the way Jackson had hoped. Jackson wanted a long-term, largely guaranteed contract, and the Ravens responded by placing the franchise tag on him.
It appears as if they aren't committing to one idea or the other. They want to try and keep Jackson, but they're not all-in on their franchise quarterback. NFL analyst Skip Bayless, in a way only he could, blasted the franchise for it with a rather interesting analogy.
Bayless said:
"They are shaming him worse and worse and worse. They're not saying completely no to him, but they're not saying yes, either. They're playing it somewhere in the middle. This is maybe the worst cliche I've ever reached for, but there's the old cliche about, 'You can't be a little bit pregnant.' It's like Baltimore has to be just a little bit pregnant."
He continued:
"They don't want to be a lot pregnant, but you're still, you're still pregnant! Do you want him or not? Do you want to go all-in or not? Because you can't play it right down the middle... Trust me, wherever [Lamar Jackson] sits, he is not happy."
The Ravens have not been as respectful to the franchise star who has carried the offense for years as one might have expected. Bayless believes it's time for them to go in or back out and stop messing around with Lamar Jackson.
Why did the Ravens franchise tag Lamar Jackson?
The Ravens placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Lamar Jackson for a few reasons. For starters, it's about $13 million cheaper than the exclusive tag.
Secondly, it allows the quarterback to negotiate with other teams and gives the Ravens the chance to match any offer or receive compensation if they don't.
This allows them to retain their player but only if it's not too expensive. They're not signing him, but if all else fails, he will remain a Raven.
They will likely match the offer he gets, but they're probably banking on that offer being lower than what he currently wants.
