The Cleveland Browns gave quarterback Deshaun Watson a massive, fully guaranteed contract last offseason, and it looks as though NFL teams are desperately trying to make sure that does not happen again. As the Baltimore Ravens place a nonexclusive franchise tag on QB Lamar Jackson, which means he can shop around for a new deal and bring it back to the team to match, suddenly every quarterback-needy team has decided not to dip their toes into that water.
This feels like collusion, and it will be interesting to see how Jackson and the NFLPA handle it. Never have teams publicly bowed out of a race like this, including teams posting to their own websites. And it is even weirder that it is happening to a 26-year-old former league MVP who plays the most important position in all of professional sports.
