drjohnnyfever
Pro Bowler
We still need to get Lamar to agree to a contract before we can restructure it, right?
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Lamar Jackson
- Thread starter Ice Bowl
- Start date
Willbacker
Ravens Ring of Honor
150 Snickers, 100 Nestle and a Partridge in a pear tree. GUARANTEED
Nurps
Ravens Ring of Honor
The pear tree has to be part of the deal. Not just the partridge. His mom thought of EVERYTHING
done
Jeff Z had an interesting article this morning about the impact of this whole ordeal on the Ravens and I think he's pretty spot on. Basically said they're botching the PR aspect of things regardless of what's true and what isn't. The perception that they're being cheap is alienating fans, alienating potential free agents, and just causing overall chaos. Basically opines that they need to take the kid gloves off and be a little more open, because doing the same thing over and over is just causing more of a riff. Did mention that he understands the FO generally doesn't care what outside opinions are, but says they should because they're approaching a slippery slope if things end with Lamar not in a Ravens uniform.
UPennChem
Hall of Famer
I also totally agree here. Usually they can not care because we're a small ish market team without a superstar QB. But they need to get with the times and adapt.
think also that that approach only works if the players also agree to not care about outside opinions but with social media and sports media the way it is now, players are far more aware of what's said and thought about them and so it matters more
and it does feel like a missed opportunity because every time they do a presser and talk about lamar, everything and everyone around the team feels so much better and more confident
Lamar highlights from the EDC presser...
Talks are ongoing and he's still optimistic about something getting done
Admits it's significantly harder to negotiate when it's directly with the player
Did not throw either tag option off the table and says they have "4, 5, 6 different plans" depending on what happens in the next 10 days
Said he's hopeful they won't have to use the tag
Said he and Lamar made a pact 2 years ago when talks opened up that nothing leaks from each of their respective sides (aka most of what you're hearing is probably bullshit)
I know it's a lot of lip service still, but worth calling out.
Talks are ongoing and he's still optimistic about something getting done
Admits it's significantly harder to negotiate when it's directly with the player
Did not throw either tag option off the table and says they have "4, 5, 6 different plans" depending on what happens in the next 10 days
Said he's hopeful they won't have to use the tag
Said he and Lamar made a pact 2 years ago when talks opened up that nothing leaks from each of their respective sides (aka most of what you're hearing is probably bullshit)
I know it's a lot of lip service still, but worth calling out.
10 days was an interesting number to throw out - maybe just generically throwing it out as we head towards free agency
but franchise tag deadline is only 6 days away i think - especially when he says he's hopeful they wont have to use the tag
but i wonder what he means by "use" the tag - does he mean tag him or does he mean him playing on the tag?
every time he speaks about lamar i become optimistic - makes me so resentful of all the media stuff and the fact that this process is so slow still - but i get that he and lamar dont seem to care about any of the outside perception
rmcjacket23
Ravens Ring of Honor
End of day, perception is pretty much always a short term thing. If they sign Lamar long term, the perception vanishes instantly. If they don't, at some point shortly thereafter, I 100% guarantee there will be many reports out there about what the Ravens latest and best contract offer was.
Once the latter happens, it is what it is. Fans have already made up their mind which side they're on regardless. Those perceptions won't be swayed by anything. Give Lamar anything less than Watson = they're cheap. Give him a blank check = they got bent over and caved to the pressure.
The middle ground exists, but its reserved for fans who frankly don't give a fuck about the perception to begin with.
Does it alienate fans? Sure, but fans get all butt-hurt about literally anything.
Does it alienate FAs? I'll believe it when I see it. Not like they don't have a ton of market-value contracts at pretty much every other position group to point back to.
rmcjacket23
Ravens Ring of Honor
Assuming that Lamar's camp isn't "lying", I became a lot more optimistic about a deal when his camp said he's not asking for a fully gtd contract.
But it probably won't take too long to figure out if that's real or not.
Put a fork in him he gone lol. Nah I just had to lol i'm sorry . No offense to Ravenlord
Yeah I got the sense the 10 day thing was more generic, but my eyebrow raised a bit when he said it although it likely means nothing.
In regards to using the tag, I believe the question was specifically pointed to the tag deadline and that's when he replied that he hopes not to use it.
it's always annoying that it's hard to hear the questions at the combine lol
so not much to glean from those 2 statements relating to the tag then
SaltyDog
MVP
I am cautiously optimistic when I hear EDC talk about the negotiations. He has to portray confidence and optimism. Up until the comments by DeMaurice Smith about the importance of Lamar’s contract to future deals, I would have put much higher odds on Lamar getting signed to a deal. Not as confident any more.
The tag options are the worst case scenarios IMO, But apparently the Ravens are prepared to go that route if necessary.
Tank
Hall of Famer
Yeah, maybe not tango-ing. lol
You say here that Lamar not having an agent has been a roadblock, and I believe that is THE roadblock. Agents negotiate, they know how far they can push and at the end of the day, what market value is. If LJ is getting the advice that there's one number, and one way to structure, nothing else, that is not participating in negotiations.
All this is speculation, but not having an agent makes it a likely scenario.
drjohnnyfever
Pro Bowler
Hopefully, Lamar knows he's a pawn in the NFLPA's agenda. An agent would, no doubt.
With DeMaurice Smith stating that Lamar's contract will push the others into the guaranteed realm, I hope it doesn't make Lamar put on the brakes to signing a contract with us until he gets ALL he wants, but it likely will, because I just don't think the Ravens are the team to set the market, especially with guaranteed money. I think they are willing to play him as the Franchised Player, this year, tho. That said, whether Lamar is savvy enough to know that he has to play this season, under the tag AND has to COMPLETE the season healthy. The NFLPA doesn't care either of those things related to Lamar. Because if Lamar doesn't play under the tag or gets injured his value will be diminished and then it's up to Burrow or Hurts to set the market in the NFLPA's mind and so long Lamar.
So for the NFLPA it's next man up for their agenda, but for Lamar, if he gets tagged and doesn't play, play a full season, and - I'd even say - make the Playoffs, he might never get the deal he wants. If he balks at the lack of commitment with the Tag, as he seemingly did with the injury this year, and sits out or goes in the hold-out mode, that hurts his ability to get what he wants and it also hurts our ability to get what we want in picks because we'd be trading a "difficult," unrepresented player. If there's no deal, he has to be ready to play with the tag and put it all on the line.
drjohnnyfever
Pro Bowler
This is from something I was talking about with@RavensMania awhile ago.
I think the agent is definitely an issue, but I also think there were a couple of major things that happened that made Lamar, as his own rep, go into wait and see or lemme audition for a higher rate mode. Mahommes was the fist a 10yr., $1/2 Billion contract and then the debacle of Deshawn "Touch My Balls" Watson getting an historic guaranteed $1/4Billion deal and it not mattering at all that he was a douche. We might have had something on the table that Lamar was happy with and we'll never know.
But I would think that with an agent, whatever we had on the table, an agent would have counseled Lamar to take quickly and move toward his next big deal in 5 years. If he had done that, he would be going into year 2 or 3 and would already be making as good or better than the FT.
SaltyDog
MVP
Yeah the union is using Lamar for the “greater good”. Just hope it doesn’t backfire on him.
As for him playing under any tag scenario, it’s not good for the Ravens and there is risk for Lamar. I can’t imagine he’ll be happy, and the Ravens will be uncertain of their future for another year, maybe two. If I had to choose a tag scenario I would choose the non-exclusive. It’s the least expensive, it allows Lamar to test the market, and would allow the ravens to match any offer to keep him here.