The offseason was a rollercoaster for the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson.
From the organization tagging Jackson with a non-exclusive tag to trade rumors, there was plenty of drama for the four months the situation lingered.
Jackson kept the focus of the press conference at the Under Armour Performance Center on the present and the future.
“I’m not really worried about what happened in the past; we’re going to keep it about these next five years and keep it about what’s going on today,” Jackson said. “It’s a great day. A great day; I just signed with the guys up here. That’s all I’m focused on right now.”
Here are four takeaways from the presser.
1. Odell Beckham was among teammates texting Lamar Jackson
The Ravens’ offseason workouts kicked off while Jackson was still negotiating with the organization, but that did not stop his teammates from encouraging the MVP quarterback to get back on the field.
Baltimore signed Beckham in free agency, and the receiver was among the teammates imploring Jackson to return.
“Coach [John Harbaugh] reached out to me, and we went back and forth with that,” Jackson said. “Definitely having Odell, and those guys reach out to me like, ‘Man, we need you here.’ It was like, ‘I want to be there.’ It’s not like I want to leave anyways, it was business.”
2. Jackson did not take any part of the negotiation process personal
Jackson took it upon himself to be his own representation in the negotiations. As such, he was exposed a little more to conversations that otherwise might be difficult. Nevertheless Jackson played it as strictly business and nothing personal.
“If you’re going to represent yourself, you have to have a strong mind,” said Jackson. “I wouldn’t say you get out there and put your feelings in it because it’s not about feelings. You can’t take things with a, ‘Oh yes, I don’t like what you said. I don’t agree with this.’ What they feel is how you feel. It’s a grown man thing at the end of the day, so you have to be a grown man if you’re going to handle business.”
3. Baltimore wanted Jackson to get a feel for the market
One of the more puzzling aspects of the Jackson franchise-tagging was the fact the Ravens placed a non-exclusive tag on the All-Pro quarterback.
A team would have to give up two first-round picks in addition to Jackson’s contract demands, and the Ravens would have first right to match the deal. It wasn’t like Jackson was exactly on the market, but it was comparable to a taken individual having a profile on a dating app — even if a profile picture wasn’t uploaded yet.
Baltimore simply wanted Jackson to “get a sense of what was important to him,” according to executive vice president and general manager Eric DeCosta.
Said DeCosta: “He could have conversations if he wanted with other teams to see what his value might be, and he could get the chance to talk to other coaches or GMs — if he wanted to — to kind of get a sense for the landscape. You’re looking at the exclusive [tag] … It’s kind of binding in a lot of ways. So, free agency is a chance for players to go out and kind of see what their value could be, potentially.
“In the end, that was the decision that we made, hoping that we would be sitting here today; that at some point over the coming months — and we had our moments — but over the coming months, we would have the chance to negotiate again and get a long term deal done, which proved to be the case.”
All’s well that ends well, but it was a risky game the Ravens played.
4. Jackson is ready for OTAs
Jackson said he would join the team for organized activities “soon,” and that he “medically passed” and was doing “great.”
The Ravens wrapped up one of their most pressing issues of the past year. The organization can focus on the road ahead with their franchise quarterback firmly in place.
