Baltimore Ravens franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson already made headlines this week by announcing on social media that he had officially requested a trade from the Ravens earlier in the month.
Now, Jackson is firing back at questions about his injuries.
“Let’s get real. I rather have a 100% PCL than go out there and play horrible forcing myself to put my guys in a bad situation now that’s selfish to me,” Jackson tweeted from his official Twitter page on Tuesday night.
“I don’t remember me sitting out on my guys week 1 vs jets To week 12 vs Broncos,” Jackson stated. “How come all of a sudden I sit out because of money in which I could’ve got hurt at anytime within that time frame when we know the Super Bowl been on my mind since April 2018.”
The Ravens placed the nonexclusive tag on Jackson back on March 7th which allows Jackson to speak with other teams and also negotiate a contract with them, but if he signs an offer sheet the Ravens have the option to match the deal and keep Jackson in Baltimore.
However, should the Ravens decide not to match any potential offer sheet, they can receive two first round draft picks as compensation. Jackson is representing himself during negotiations, but has not publicly drawn serious interest from any teams.
The only team that confirmed they would be consider Jackson is the Indianapolis Colts.
The Atlanta Falcons, another potential match on paper, seem to have concerns about Jackson’s durability and Falcons owners Arthur Blank discussed those concerns.
“Looking at it objectively, there is some concern about whether or not he can play his style of game for … how long can that last,” Blank said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’m not sure. He’s only 26. Hopefully a long time for his benefit or anybody that he’s signed with. But he’s missed five to six games each of the last two years. This is not like baseball and basketball where you’re playing 82 or a 182 games, or whatever baseball is now.”
“I think Lamar’s situation, and I don’t really want to spend a whole lot of time talking about players on other clubs, but Lamar’s situation, I think is very different,” Blank said. “A different player. Different time.”
