The franchise tag window has opened at the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson still do not have an agreement on a huge contract extension for the former NFL MVP.
The 26-year-old quarterback is in the final weeks of his rookie contract with the Ravens and, representing himself without an agent in negotiations, he is yet to agree to a long-term deal to stay at M&T bank stadium.
The discourse around the situation indicates Jackson, the 2019 league MVP, wants a fully-guaranteed deal in line with the record-breaking fully-guaranteed five-year $230million deal the Cleveland Browns handed to Deshaun Watson 11 months ago.
Jackson has been a revelation since being drafted by the Ravens in 2018, providing a dual threat with his arm and athleticism to make his team one of the most dynamic in the league.
However, the Ravens have so far been unwilling to meet the asking price and, after missing the Ravens' final five regular-season games as well as the wildcard defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals in the play-offs with a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury, uncertainty reigns over his future with the organisation.
The Ravens have the option of signing Jackson to a franchise tag by March 7, which would see Jackson paid $45m guaranteed for next season, but NFL pundit Nick Wright believes the organisation should "rip the band-aid off" and pursue trade options for Jackson.
"I believe Lamar Jackson has played his last snap as a Baltimore Ravens already," he said on The Herd.
"Assuming the Ravens are going to offer him the exclusive franchise tag that is $45m guaranteed. Let's assume Lamar would play under the tag, which I'm not sure he would, but assuming he would, you are in the exact same position next year – he wants a fully-guaranteed deal and you don't want to give him a fully-guaranteed deal. That is where you are negotiating from.
"The Ravens are already in a bad spot because the negotiations have to start at $45m a year because that is what the tag is. A year from now, the negotiations would start at $55m a year and if you tag him twice, you can lose him for nothing.
"The Ravens have two options and none of them are great options, but it is where they find themselves. Either give Lamar the deal he is demanding or trade him right now because if you kick this can down the road for a year, his trade market drops precipitously because the entire league will know you would be one year away from losing him for nothing."
Wright touted quarterback-needy teams the Indianapolis Colts, Las Vegas Raiders, Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets as possible trade partners, but he believes the deal the Ravens should strongly consider is a straight trade for Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields.
Fields is a running quarterback in the same mould as Jackson and he would fit seamlessly into John Harbaugh's offence in Baltimore. Heading into his third year, he is also still on his rookie contract and would be a substantially cheaper option for the Ravens.
For Chicago, who hold the number-one overall pick in the upcoming draft, Jackson would represent an upgrade under centre and moving for him could make the organisation more comfortable with trading away the top spot in the draft in order to stockpile picks for a weak roster that needs bolstering across the board.
"You totally understand where both sides are coming from," Wright continued. "For Lamar, Deshaun Watson got $50m per year guaranteed and he has accomplished, by any measure, more than Deshaun Watson has in this league and, obviously, his off-field baggage is non-existent compared to Deshaun.
"However, if you are the Ravens, are you fully confident in Lamar's development as a passer? No. Are you fully confident in Lamar's ability to stay healthy? No. So are you fully confident that $200m guaranteed is a good idea? Probably not, so rip the band-aid off because there are teams out there that will absolutely give you the contract that he wants and, at this moment, give you massive draft compensation.
"The Ravens have built an offence specifically around this style of quarterback, so if you're Baltimore do you quietly call the team that has the most cap space in the NFL and a team that hasn't had a franchise quarterback in 70 years, a team that is going to be looking to spend money.
"They probably have more money than they can spend, so say 'Do you want to do a simple trade, your mobile quarterback on a rookie deal for our established quarterback?
"Call up the Bears and just see (about) Lamar for Justin Fields. And then the Bears can do what they want with the number one pick, trade down and get more assets, and the Ravens can start over the clock paying the quarterback with a guy they are maybe more comfortable with.
"If you are not comfortable paying Lamar Jackson now, you are not going to be comfortable paying him a year from now and what you are able to get back for him just gets worse and worse and worse as time goes on."
