NFL 2022 Season

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

Lamar Jackson hasn’t practiced in over a month. A) Is he playing this weekend and B) do you think he will sign long term in Baltimore? I don’t think the franchise tag is a good move for him. Someone will pay him- why not Baltimore?

[Phantom255x]

I'm not surprised. I doubt Lamar is playing. Why risk getting hurt, or even risk playing poorly and having that also potentially affect contract negotiations going forward. BAL has to pay him, they don't have a choice. I think if they decide to franchise tag him he might just do this again next season (or maybe even hold out, then BAL has their 2023 season with Huntley)

[Moranis]

Baltimore offered Lamar 5 years, 250 million with over half fully guaranteed at signing.  It would have paid the most annual money of any QB and was the 2nd most guaranteed money at signing ever.  Lamar wanted the whole thing guaranteed because that is what Watson got.  Baltimore isn't going to fully guarantee 250 million dollars to a QB that has now been injured at the end of consecutive seasons and for multiple games in each such season (and I'm not sure anyone else would either).  They will however franchise tag him for the next two and pay him over 100 million dollars to do so.  If Lamar holds out, so be it, but that is around 50 million dollars he won't get, a lost season on top of that, and almost certainly won't make some team give him a massive fully guaranteed contract. 

As for why Lamar should play, he needs to end the season not injured and on a potential high note.  As has been mentioned in this thread and other places, Lamar hasn't exactly lit the world on fire in the playoffs thus far.  If he can go against Cincinnati and have even a decent game, it would go a long way in showing why he is worth a fully guaranteed contract.  If he doesn't play, then why would anyone pay him a fully guaranteed contract if he can't play in the biggest games of the year, has never performed well in those games, and can't finish seasons healthy.

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

I disagree- he only needs one team to fully guarantee a contract. One team will do that. I’m with the player- he risks his body more than others like Brady and Rodgers. His career will be shorter. I think it would be easy for his agent to explain why he didn’t play to a prospective GM. “To be honest, i was coming off an injury, I hadn’t practiced, I wasn’t confident with the offense and/or play calling, and there was an impasse in negotiations. This next contract might be my last. Call it risk management.”

Also, 5x50 means very little. Guaranteed money matters.

[Phantom255x]

I disagree- he only needs one team to fully guarantee a contract. One team will do that. I’m with the player- he risks his body more than others like Brady and Rodgers. His career will be shorter. I think it would be easy for his agent to explain why he didn’t play to a prospective GM. “To be honest, i was coming off an injury, I hadn’t practiced, I wasn’t confident with the offense and/or play calling, and there was an impasse in negotiations. This next contract might be my last. Call it risk management.”

Also, 5x50 means very little. Guaranteed money matters.

Yeah if Lamar was available, a team like the Jets would absolutely be all over him. We saw a desperate Browns team give Watson 230M guaranteed.

I don't think Lamar is worth 250M guaranteed either, but we saw Kyler Murray get 5/230M (190M guaranteed).

KYLER-FREAKIN'-MURRAY....

And if we talk about Lamar struggling in the playoffs, Kyler had one of the most hideous performances I've seen by a starting QB in the postseason (vs. Rams last year) and didn't matter, he got the bag and then some

[Moranis]

Lamar doesn't have an agent and he isn't going anywhere for at least 2 more years as he is going to be tagged with the exclusive tag, meaning no one can sign or negotiate with him.  The only way he doesn't play for Baltimore again is if he holds out for 2 years and foregoes 100 million dollars or so of guaranteed money (in theory he could be traded as well, but that seems highly unlikely).  Now sure in 2025 he can go out and sign a contract as a free agent somewhere, but that is 2 years down the line.  It isn't a this off season problem unless you truly believe Lamar isn't going to play on the franchise tag (which for 1 year would be SIGNIFICANTLY more money than he has made in the 5 prior years combined). 

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

Interesting time to make Roquan Smith the highest paid player at his position. Roquan also doesn’t have an agent.

From the outside looking in, the Ravens appear to have mishandled Lamar’s negotiations. They should be gearing up to play the Bengals instead of talking (or not talking) about who is playing QB.

[Roy H.]

Interesting time to make Roquan Smith the highest paid player at his position. Roquan also doesn’t have an agent.

From the outside looking in, the Ravens appear to have mishandled Lamar’s negotiations. They should be gearing up to play the Bengals instead of talking (or not talking) about who is playing QB.

I love Roquan Smith.  I wish there had been a way for him to stay with the Bears.  But man, it's hard to justify paying him $20 million as an ILB.  If you're paying a MLB / ILB that much, they better be Ray Lewis or Brian Urlacher.

[Moranis]

The signing of Smith makes it easy to franchise Lamar as Smith is the only other player that could even be considered for the franchise tag on the Ravens.  Smith also didn't cut off negotiations once the season started and took what is a normal salary structure i.e. not fully guaranteed - 45 million fully guaranteed at signing with likely 60 million in total guarantees. 

Lamar turned down a contract that would have made him the highest paid player on an annual basis in the sport (matching Rodgers, but more years than him) and that had more money guaranteed at signing than what Kyler and Wilson got (who both re-signed after Watson's contract).  Below is an ESPN article that talks about the money aspects. 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/34569529/lamar-jackson-declined-baltimore-ravens-250m-extension-offer-wants-deal-fully-guaranteed-signing-sources-say

[Moranis]

Interesting time to make Roquan Smith the highest paid player at his position. Roquan also doesn’t have an agent.

From the outside looking in, the Ravens appear to have mishandled Lamar’s negotiations. They should be gearing up to play the Bengals instead of talking (or not talking) about who is playing QB.

I love Roquan Smith.  I wish there had been a way for him to stay with the Bears.  But man, it's hard to justify paying him $20 million as an ILB.  If you're paying a MLB / ILB that much, they better be Ray Lewis or Brian Urlacher.

It is definitely a lot of money, but they couldn't franchise him and they knew that, so I think they paid a bit more to make sure it got done before the season ended.

[Birdman]

Ravens may think Hunley might be better at QB in the future than Lamar..I say Jets, Carolina, & Washington be in play for Lamar

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

I think Lamar signs elsewhere at this point. The Ravens should look to trade up for one of the top QBs. There’s not much there beyond Jackson and Andrews, so it’s time to find the next QB.

Or pay Lamar want he wants. Another team will.

[Moranis]

I think Lamar signs elsewhere at this point. The Ravens should look to trade up for one of the top QBs. There’s not much there beyond Jackson and Andrews, so it’s time to find the next QB.

Or pay Lamar want he wants. Another team will.

He literally cannot sign a contract with any other team until 2025.

[kraidstar]

I don't get the Buffalo love affair.  They are obviously a good team, but odds almost as good as the Chiefs and better than any NFC team.  I just don't see it.  Maybe they prove me wrong, but that seems like a bad bet.

Not sure it is a love affair but I certainly get why they are among the top teams that people are betting on to win the Super Bowl.  It will be tough to get out of the AFC "bracket" with KC and CIN but BUF is good.  And if they lose a close game on a neutral field to KC, what does that mean?  Or even if they lose to CIN?

I have more questions about all the NFC teams.  How far can SF go behind Purdy?  Are teams like PHI and DAL actually good?  MIN?  How good are they?  I don't think any of these NFC teams are as goods as the Bills.  SF's best win in the last 10 weeks or so is probably Seattle.  SF could be a team to watch, but I have my doubts.  MIN might be a good long shot bet based on their odds.  Getting through the NFC may not be all that hard and once you are in the Super Bowl, anything can happen.

I am not a bettor though.  Just an Opiner.

I'm curious, before the Hurts injury what didn't you like about the Eagles?  I frequently hear that they're pretenders, but I think that with Hurts healthy they're on the same level as Buffalo.

I don't know, nothing based on advanced analytics or anything, they just seem to have a pretty easy schedule.  They may well win the NFC.  To me, there is no clear favorite.  When Hurts is good, no doubt PHI is a contender.

They played 10 games against teams .500 or better (i.e. the 6 games in division, minny, det, pitt, jax).  The Chiefs only had the 2 against LAC, SF, Sea, Cin, Buf, Jax.  So just 7 games against teams .500 or better.  Same as the Bills with the Cincinnati game being cancelled.

7 of those 10 games were against teams that finished with 8-9 wins. So a whopping 3 games against teams that were .560 or better. Not particularly impressive.

In comparison the Bills also played 10 games against teams with 8 wins or more, and that's not including the canceled Cinci game.

I wouldn't call Philly's schedule easy by any stretch. I wouldn't call it tough either. More than anything it echoes the resounding mediocrity of the league.

16 teams finished with 7-9 wins. Literally half the NFL.

[Moranis]

I don't get the Buffalo love affair.  They are obviously a good team, but odds almost as good as the Chiefs and better than any NFC team.  I just don't see it.  Maybe they prove me wrong, but that seems like a bad bet.

Not sure it is a love affair but I certainly get why they are among the top teams that people are betting on to win the Super Bowl.  It will be tough to get out of the AFC "bracket" with KC and CIN but BUF is good.  And if they lose a close game on a neutral field to KC, what does that mean?  Or even if they lose to CIN?

I have more questions about all the NFC teams.  How far can SF go behind Purdy?  Are teams like PHI and DAL actually good?  MIN?  How good are they?  I don't think any of these NFC teams are as goods as the Bills.  SF's best win in the last 10 weeks or so is probably Seattle.  SF could be a team to watch, but I have my doubts.  MIN might be a good long shot bet based on their odds.  Getting through the NFC may not be all that hard and once you are in the Super Bowl, anything can happen.

I am not a bettor though.  Just an Opiner.

I'm curious, before the Hurts injury what didn't you like about the Eagles?  I frequently hear that they're pretenders, but I think that with Hurts healthy they're on the same level as Buffalo.

I don't know, nothing based on advanced analytics or anything, they just seem to have a pretty easy schedule.  They may well win the NFC.  To me, there is no clear favorite.  When Hurts is good, no doubt PHI is a contender.

They played 10 games against teams .500 or better (i.e. the 6 games in division, minny, det, pitt, jax).  The Chiefs only had the 2 against LAC, SF, Sea, Cin, Buf, Jax.  So just 7 games against teams .500 or better.  Same as the Bills with the Cincinnati game being cancelled.

7 of those 10 games were against teams that finished with 8-9 wins. So a whopping 3 games against teams that were .560 or better. Not particularly impressive.

In comparison the Bills also played 10 games against teams with 8 wins or more, and that's not including the canceled Cinci game.

I wouldn't call Philly's schedule easy by any stretch. I wouldn't call it tough either. More than anything it echoes the resounding mediocrity of the league.

16 teams finished with 7-9 wins. Literally half the NFL.

I was just disputing it was a pretty easy schedule, never said it was hard, but they played in the best division in the sport and played 3 games against teams with at least 12 wins (the Chiefs are the only other team with at least 11 wins to have also done that).