I mean I never saw anyone at any point say he was MVP. I saw them argue he should be in the conversation to be MVP which considering the record made sense (they were beating up on the dregs after all) and considering "in the conversation" is usually something they argue about for any of the top 8-9 guys I would say such a topic was warranted.
However arguing someone should be in the conversation is not the same thing as being a serious MVP candidate. For example after the first month of the year, last year, there were 3 MVP candidates: Mahomes, Hurts, and Allen. However, at multiple points through the year their were segments arguing that the following should be in the "conversation": Geno Smith, Tua, Justin Jefferson, Joe Burrow, and Justin Herbert, just to name a few, as there were others. These were all people who whenever they would have a good game, which was often, the national media would have a segment about whether they should be in the MVP conversation and then argue why they should be. However, none of them truly were because when push came to shove there were 3 real candidates for MVP after the first month.
The reason that I think Lamar is happy to have OBJ, is that he has realized the same thing that everyone on here has, and a thing that the national media seems unwilling to accept: nobody is going to meet Lamar's demands so he needs to prove himself on the tag. What that means is having a complete year where he looks like a top 10 QB and making it through that year relatively uninjured, at least playing the last few games. His hope is that if he can do that maybe someone gives him the money he wants. I do not think he will get the guarantees he wants from anyone but maybe someone gives him more if he shows he can play an entire season at a top 10 level, instead of for short spurts at a top 3-5 level, and he can remain healthy.
