Is Lamar Jackson paying value for Deshaun Watson contract?

The Lamar Jackson contract saga took an fascinating twist Tuesday when the Baltimore Ravens introduced they have been inserting the non-exclusive franchise tag on the 2019 NFL MVP, permitting him to check the waters in free company.

In the hours following the announcement, although, it was reported that a number of quarterback-needy groups will not pursue Jackson when free company unofficially opens Monday. 

Shannon Sharpe mentioned he wasn’t stunned that “some of these losing organizations” aren’t interested by Jackson, saying “that’s why you’re in the position that you’re in.”

However, Sharpe appears an inconsistency within the quarterback market since Deshaun Watson agreed to a five-year, $230 million absolutely assured cope with the Cleveland Browns in March 2022. Jackson has reportedly sought a deal much like Watson’s all through his negotiation talks with the Ravens, in search of a completely assured contract with extra money. 

“When a receiver signs and sets the market, then somebody else signs and somebody else signs, and it keeps going up,” Sharpe mentioned on Wednesday’s “Undisputed.” “Why does it seem like they’re trying to suppress this quarterback market? Because nobody has approached the Deshaun Watson deal since, [and] there have been a lot of quarterbacks that came after who haven’t come close to that deal. But at every other position, [like defensive end], the market kept [going up]. The receiver market kept [going up]. 

“Why is it with the quarterback market that it began excessive, and now it is [going down]? You suppose that is an accident?”

As Sharpe alluded to, some analysts speculated as as to whether groups are working collectively to make sure absolutely assured contracts do not change into the brand new regular for star quarterbacks.

Colin Cowherd is not shopping for that principle. 

“People can come to the same conclusion, but it’s not collusion,” Cowherd mentioned on “The Herd.” “There’s no collusion on ‘The Voice’ if you have a lousy signing voice. Everyone can agree pretty quickly that you’re a hack. You don’t have to be in a text chain to know that the Deshaun Watson contract was immoral and awful. Nobody had to collude. 

“There was a league conclusion that the determined Cleveland Browns overpaid.”

Cowherd doesn’t believe that teams such as the Ravens should be punished for what bad teams like the Browns do. 

“If the Mariners signal Robinson Cano to a 10-year deal, why do well-run groups [have to do the same]?” Cowherd said. “Because the determined Cleveland Browns signal a contract, why do the well-run Ravens must do one thing?”

“Why ought to the Cleveland Browns dictate the market on this league? They’ve by no means dictated something. They’re the worst-run workforce of their division.”

Cowherd mentioned he would a minimum of try and signal Jackson. But he’d even be weary of giving the QB a fully-guaranteed deal, saying such a transfer can be “collateral damage” from the Watson contract.

“You know what this was? What it was is general managers saying, ‘No, this can’t be the new reality in a quarterback in Lamar Jackson that’s unavailable,'” Cowherd mentioned. “In the last 22 games, Lamar Jackson’s missed 40 percent of them. I can’t guarantee you a contract if you’re not guaranteed to play. 

“Patrick Mahomes? That’s a assured contract, doubtlessly. That’s a man [who should get] assured cash. Joe Burrow [is another]. I imply it is a tiny, tiny checklist.”

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