The Baltimore Ravens had a season to forget in 2021 that was plagued with injuries and last minute losses. However, a healthy Baltimore team is a playoff-caliber group and one with plenty of potential. One of the injuries the Ravens faced last season was that of quarterback Lamar Jackson, who missed the final six games of the year with an ankle injury.
The Ravens know their offense is revolved around Jackson. The quarterback has put the team on his back more than once, becoming one of the more sensational players in the league. His injury last season has a couple analysts saying he will be under pressure to bounce back in 2022. In a media call on Monday, ESPN commentators Troy Aikman and Joe Buck commented on Jackson entering the 2022 season. Buck talked about how big of a year it will be for the fifth-year quarterback.
“This is a big year for him. It’s obviously a big year for the Ravens. They’re a really good team, and by all accounts, time will tell. They had a great draft and have added a lot of talent. They did lose Hollywood, so we’ll see how that all shakes out…But I think there’s a bit of pressure on him to kind of erase what happened in the second half of last year, and who knows how healthy he was.”
As Buck pointed out, it certainly is a big year for Baltimore. The team had one of the better drafts in the NFL this year, and is poised to win with their roster. Jackson also appears to be content with waiting out the 2022 season before negotiating a new contract.
Aikman acknowledged that Jackson is a unique talent and looked forward to see what the team can do with him this season.
“…But like Joe said, when we’ve covered Baltimore, Lamar is just one of those players that’s just so different than everybody else. We’ve seen great players at that position who can do great things running and throwing the ball. But this guy is special, and we’ve seen it when we’ve covered those games. He’s pretty dynamic, and I know we have them — we have them against somebody I saw in the schedule, but hoping that he’s playing great, looking forward to it.”
Jackson gives the Ravens the best chance to win whenever he takes the field. Baltimore will look much better with him in the lineup in 2022, and it seems like a big year could be in store for the signal caller.
