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The Ravens and QB Lamar Jackson have agreed to a five-year deal that will make him the league's highest-paid player. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that it's a $260 million pact with $185 million guaranteed. The deal comes in a little higher than QB Jalen Hurts' recent extension with the Eagles and locks Jackson in as the Baltimore starter for the foreseeable future. The OC switch and investment in WR Odell Beckham Jr. suggest the Ravens would like to throw the ball significantly more than last year. Baltimore ranked just 28th in pass attempts. Jackson sits seventh in our 2023 fantasy football rankings but continues to sport upside to the top of the position.
The Eagles and QB Jalen Hurts have agreed to a five-year contract extension, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. The deal reportedly includes $255 million in total money, with $179.304 million in guarantees -- plus an extra $15 million in incentives. The pact also comes with a no-trade clause, the first the team has ever given out, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. This obviously locks Hurts in as Philly's starter for the foreseeable future, which is good news for his spot in the dynasty rankings. This could also be a key move in the Lamar Jackson saga. Hurts' deal -- along with other recent second QB contracts -- seems to set the market.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson won't be attending the team's voluntary offseason program, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. No surprise here. Jackson has not signed his non-exclusive franchise tag and remains in a contract standoff with the team. We're ultimately expecting Jackson back in Baltimore for at least 2023 and won't be moving him down the QB Rankings unless this situation bleeds into August.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson announced Monday that he requested a trade back at the beginning of March. That likely helps explain the lack of movement on the free agency front, with Jackson on the franchise tag but allowed to negotiate with other teams. Any franchise signing Jackson would have to surrender two first-round picks to Baltimore, so we can assume the Ravens' asking price would be greater than that. The returns on trades for both Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson were greater just last offseason -- and Jackson is (arguably?) a more valuable asset than either player. This situation doesn't seem close to resolution. We're still drafting Jackson at his mid-QB1 price in best ball drafts. But it might be a good idea to worry a little less about stacking him with Ravens pass catchers for the time being.
The Ravens are placing the non-exclusive franchise tag on QB Lamar Jackson. That means Jackson can negotiate with other teams after NFL free agency opens. If he reaches agreement with another team, Baltimore would have the option to match or get two first-round picks from the new team. Given that the two sides haven't been able to agree on a new deal yet, this move makes sense. Now the Ravens can let the market set Jackson's value. We'd still bet on him re-signing, but it'll be an interesting situation to watch. We'll also see whether the uncertainty can push Jackson's best ball ADP down any further. (If so, pounce.)
The Ravens are hiring Todd Monken as their OC. Monken spent the past 3 seasons as Georgia's OC, helping the Bulldogs to National Championships in both 2021 and 2022. The offense improved each season, climbing from 41st to 26th and then to 5th in yards per game. Monken spent the 4 years before that Georgia stint as an NFL OC. The first 3 came with the Bucs, who climbed from 18th in total yards to 9th and then 3rd with QB Jameis Winston. Monken then headed to Cleveland, where his 2019 Browns struggled to a 22nd-place finish in total yards in QB Baker Mayfield's 2nd season. Each of Monken's final 3 NFL offenses ranked higher in pass attempts than rush attempts. All 4 were at least league-average in terms of Pass Rate Over Expected, with the 2017 Bucs finishing at +2% and the 2018 Bucs finishing at +5%. That makes this a fascinating hire considering the Ravens were a run-leaning offense under former OC Greg Roman. We'll keep an eye on Monken's exact plans for the 2023 Ravens.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport believes QB Lamar Jackson will get the exclusive franchise tag. The exclusive tag would allow Baltimore to set the price in a potential deal, while the non-exclusive variety would net the team only two 1sts. Rapoport makes clear that a trade is unlikely, although such an outcome isn’t totally dismissed. An exclusive tag for Jackson would cost Baltimore roughly $45 million.
Ravens OC Greg Roman announced Thursday via management firm AthletesFirst that he's "stepping away from the team to pursue other opportunities." Roman's offenses obviously leaned heavily on the run across his 4 years in Baltimore, which made plenty of sense with Lamar Jackson at QB. But Roman's rushing lean predated that stint. All 6 of the previous offense for which he served as OC -- 4 in San Francisco, then 2 in Buffalo -- ranked among the league's top 9 in rushing attempts. Across his 10 years as a coordinator, just 3 Roman offenses ranked lower than 3rd in carries. Only 1 of those 10 finished lower than 4th in rushing yards, and that came back in 2011, his 1st season at the post with the 49ers. We'll see where Roman lands and who the Ravens select to follow him. Of course, the status of Jackson for 2023 and beyond will likely matter even more for projecting both the player and the Ravens offense. Jackson is set to hit unrestricted free agency in March, but we'd be surprised if Baltimore lets him hit the open market. Baltimore's offense promises to be 1 of the more intriguing storylines to watch this offseason.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (knee) is facing an "uphill battle" to play in Sunday night's Wild Card game vs. the Bengals, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "He is working, he is trying, he is rehabbing," Rapoport said. "The knee is just not quite right." Jackson went down on December 4 and was initially expected to miss no more than 3 weeks. He's now 5-and-a-half weeks removed from the injury. We'll get Baltimore's first practice report of the week later today, but it sounds like we should expect Tyler Huntley to be under center on Sunday night.
The Ravens aren't expected to announce their starting QB for today's game vs. the Bengals until pregame warmups, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. QB Lamar Jackson (knee) is out, QB Tyler Huntley (shoulder, wrist) is officially questionable and QB Anthony Brown reportedly took 1st-team reps in practice this week. We'll try to find out who will be under center before kickoff, but this is obviously a situation to avoid in fantasy lineups.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson's status for the playoffs is "up in the air," according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Jackson still hasn't practiced since going down with a sprained PCL on December 4. He reportedly thinks he'll be ready to go next weekend, but the team isn't sure. Jackson's knee is "still not feeling quite right," Rapoport hears. "And because of the way Jackson plays the QB position, because of how active he is, because of how athletic he is, he needs that knee to be 100%." Jackson's status will be the biggest storyline of next week, leading up to the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
To no one's surprise, Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (knee) has been ruled out for Week 18 vs. the Bengals. HC John Harbaugh said on Friday that "Lamar's working as hard as he can. The trainers are working as hard as they can... That's where we're at. He won't be playing in this game, we're hopeful for next week," signaling a chance we see the former MVP in the playoffs. It's also worth noting that QB Tyler Huntley (right shoulder, wrist) only managed limited practice all week and is listed as questionable. Separate quotes from Harbaugh indicate that Huntley will be good to go, however. We don't feel Huntley is worth much fantasy consideration this week as he's scored less than 13 fantasy points in 4 consecutive games.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (knee) didn't practice on Thursday. As ESPN's Adam Schefter pointed out on Twitter, it's now officially been over one month since the former MVP practiced for played in an NFL game. It's safe to say Jackson's fantasy season is over. Expect QB Tyler Huntley to be under center in Week 18 vs. the Bengals. The Ravens still have a playoff run ahead of them, so perhaps we'll see Jackson under center at some point soon. This'll be a fascinating storyline to track as Jackson potentially heads toward free agency this offseason.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (knee) opened the week listed as a DNP on Wednesday's practice report. Ravens HC John Harbaugh said, "I’m just going to leave all that stuff alone and focus on the game and have the guys ready for the game," when asked about Jackson. That's not a particularly encouraging quote to hear from a coach about their QB. Fantasy managers should probably expect backup QB Tyler Huntley to once again get the nod in Week 18 vs. the Bengals.
Ravens HC John Harbaugh said Monday that he's still not sure if QB Lamar Jackson (knee) will be ready to play vs. the Bengals this weekend. "I don’t have an expectation until I hear more today,” Harbaugh said. "I’m just going to listen to the doctors and to Lamar and we’re prepared." The Ravens have clinched a playoff spot, but the Bengals would lock up the AFC North title with a win over the Bills tonight. That might ultimately impact whether Jackson plays this weekend. Stay tuned.
The Ravens are being "extra cautious" in continuing to hold QB Lamar Jackson out with his knee injury, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The team does expect Jackson back at least for the start of the playoffs, Rapoport adds. We'll continue to monitor Jackson's progress.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (knee) has been ruled out for Sunday's Week 17 contest vs. the Steelers. Fantasy managers will once again look to backup QB Tyler Huntley as the leader of the Ravens' offense. Huntley is a low-end QB2 option that only warrants consideration in superflex leagues. He's only exceeded 15 fantasy points once since taking over in Week 13 vs. the Browns. It's hard to trust a guy like that with a fantasy title on the line.
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