Falcons Owner Defends Their Decision To Not Pursue Lamar Jackson
Usually, when an MVP-caliber player in any professional sport becomes available to the highest bidder, the league goes a bit crazy with teams scrambling to figure out how to pay that player or come up with trade assets to get a deal done.
Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens seems to be the exception, with teams in need of a quarterback of his caliber being more than content with passing on the opportunity to bring him in.
According to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team, the Atlanta Falcons are among the teams that have no interest in trading and paying Jackson, with team owner Arthur Blank saying he is concerned about the versatile quarterback’s long-term health due to his style of play.
#Falcons owner Arthur Blank told a group of reporters that the Lamar Jackson situation is “very different” than Deshaun Watson from a year ago. Blank did mention there’s some concern with Lamar’s style and how long it could hold up. He brought up the games he’s missed over the…
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 28, 2023
With Jackson being predominantly a mobile quarterback that has dealt with injury issues over the past few years, this is a legitimate concern and quite possibly the main reason why teams around the league haven’t gotten in the Lamar Jackson sweepstakes.
The Falcons are a team at the beginning stages of a rebuilding process and seem more than content with sticking with Desmond Ridder as their starter and the recently signed Taylor Heinicke as his backup.
With the Falcons not expected to make much noise in the near future, this could ultimately be the right move.
The one team that could make a serious run at Jackson is the Indianapolis Colts, who haven’t ruled out trading for the former NFL MVP.
The New England Patriots have also emerged as a potential suitor, with the team potentially not sold on Mac Jones as the long-term starter.