Lamar Jackson has been the talk of the NFL, and thanks to Robert Kraft’s reported comments on Monday, things are heating up for the 26-year old former league MVP, particularly when it comes to joining forces with the Patriots.
Jackson is on a fully guaranteed $32,416,000 non-exclusive tag for 2023, and that means a few things.
For starters, it means the Patriots would at minimum need to clear close to that to be able to outright trade for him. Now, a reworked deal could happen, but the non-exclusive tag means that the Patriots would need to work out an offer sheet for Jackson.
The Ravens would have the opportunity to match it, and if not, the Patriots would be kissing their 14th overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft and another future first goodbye.
If Jackson decides he wants to ultimately go to the Patriots, he could theoretically agree to a team-friendly 2023 extension that would lower his initial cap hit, and bring him long-term, without the Patriots having to trade two firsts for him. Maybe another player could be thrown in as compensation.
There is also value in being completely patient and waiting it out until May, which would push those premium draft picks back to 2024 and 2025. That would enable the Patriots to get Jackson, while also filling a need in this year’s draft.
The Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard is reporting the Patriots aren’t expected to pursue Jackson, but this is clearly a fluid situation with a lot of moving parts.
If the Patriots did decide to pursue Jackson, here are three ways they could acquire him.
The first option is the most obvious, front and center option on the table. The Patriots could clear the cap space needed. That would require adding more holes to the roster, but if you’re optimistic, some of those holes have already been filled with Riley Reiff (Trent Brown), Mike Gesicki (Hunter Henry), Juju Smith-Schuster (DeVante Parker, although not one-for-one) and a potential replacement for Deatrich Wise in the draft .
The Patriots would likely also need to extend older veteran players by adding more dead money and void years. They have plenty of space after this season to do so with very little on the books in 2024, 2025 and 2026, besides rookie contracts. The Patriots have been signing shorter-term deals so this could be an option
Jackson would likely earn $45 million per season, and although he won’t get it fully guaranteed, there is a chance that he gets a huge chunk guaranteed.
If the…
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