INDIANAPOLIS — When the Baltimore Ravens braintrust held a season-ending news conference Jan. 19, the tone was hopeful but clear: Quarterback Lamar Jackson’s contract negotiations were busy and a shrinking window to work with.
Six weeks later, talks are bogged down in obscurity as tensions between the Ravens grow.
The final twist came this week when general manager Eric DeCosta stunningly shadowed his wide receivers at a meeting with the media at the NFL scouting combine, framing Baltimore’s struggles in evaluating position with a line that drew his dressing room’s attention would drag :
“I would say a lot of people would say the same thing; It’s a challenging position to evaluate in different ways. If I had an answer I would probably have some better recipients I think. We keep on trying.”
The reaction of one of DeCosta’s wideouts – Rashod Bateman from the first round of 2021 – was predictably cold. The less predictable aspect was Bateman responding publicly on social media while also defending Jackson.
in one Tweet that was deleted Minutes later, Bateman responded directly to DeCosta’s remarks:
“[H]ow bout you play to your player strength and stop pointing fingers at us and #8,” Bateman wrote, referring to Jackson. “[B]lame the one you let do it…. We heat 24 hours a day. & keep us sane… take care of the US and see what happens.
After you take down the message, Bateman tweeted apologize with a hugging emoji.
What can’t be erased or replaced is the simplicity of the message: Bateman seemed frustrated enough to publicly approach his general manager (in a way that might be considered fair game given DeCosta’s remarks), and he chose to give Jackson a go to include his message, although the quarterback isn’t part of DeCosta’s quote.
The story goes on
Rashod Bateman, 7, did mention Lamar Jackson, though not by name, while clapping back at comments from Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta at the NFL Scouting Combine. (Brad Penner/AP Images for Panini)
The line “blame whoever you let do this” also appeared to be a not-so-veiled reference to former offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who “resigned” in January and was replaced last month by Georgia Bulldogs offensive coordinator Todd Monken, a hire that was reportedly made without Jackson being a central part of the process. And as if that wasn’t enough, Bateman’s inclusion of “Keep Us Healthy” and “Care about US” comes a day after the NFL Players Association released league-wide team report cards that gutted Baltimore’s strength coaches and ranked them bottom in the NFL classified with the grade F-.
In the testimony, which was the result of an anonymous poll of more than 1,300 of the NFL’s more than 2,200 active players, the NFLPA noted that Baltimore’s strength coaches “[W]even well below the second worst team [in the NFL]. Players don’t feel that the power staff helps them be more successful. The team recently parted ways with Head Strength Coach Steve Saunders, so we’re excited to see this area improve in his absence.”
This criticism of Saunders drew tweets from former Ravens players Carl Davis Jr. and Quincy Adeboyejo, who reached out directly to the former coach.
“I was definitely a victim of the strength coaches. Two labrums and several pecs.” Davis Jr wroteReferring to past injuries.
“Definitely ruined my career” Adeboyejo wrote. “3 consecutive season-ending injuries after being healthy my entire career before that.”
Just that public flogging by the NFLPA and the ensuing talk of injuries should have the Ravens worried. But along with Bateman’s remarks to DeCosta and mixed in with the ongoing awkward contract dance with Jackson (who ended his season on what appeared to be a strained injury layoff), it adds another layer to an ongoing saga that’s only getting worse for Baltimore. And it focuses more on the pressing questions of how the Ravens and their star quarterback appear to be entering coin-tossing territory if Jackson signs an extension or is traded this offseason.
DeCosta doesn’t seem to have an easier time answering some of these questions, especially after the past six weeks, which have seen virtually nothing to report this week at the combine. Not even the usual “we’re making progress” remark.
If anything, DeCosta’s comments on the negotiations with Jackson sounded like they’d been ripped out of his end-of-season press conference six weeks earlier, when work was reportedly just getting started.
“Yes, Lamar and I are talking,” DeCosta said. “We met recently. It’s an ongoing discussion. We both understand the urgency of the situation; It was a good dialogue, a good discussion. I’m optimistic, as I continue to be optimistic, and we’ll see where it goes.”
Given the challenges of the negotiations, DeCosta subtly mentioned an issue that continues to be an issue. Most elite quarterback negotiations involve some sharp elbowing moments, in which a general manager openly voices his criticism of a player to his agent, driving the talks forward as the two sides try to find common ground. Jackson doesn’t have an agent, which makes this type of direct negotiation tactic much more delicate. The GM knows he can say some blunt things to an agent that won’t scar his relationship with the player. In that case, DeCosta would have to say those things directly to Jackson, and it could affect the future of Jackson’s relationship with the front office and coaching staff.
“I think when dealing with an agent you can sometimes speak very freely [and] position yourself a certain way,” DeCosta said. “You have different arguments that you can use that you might not say to a player. So, I think that’s part of it. There’s a lot of respect – enormous respect – because I’m with a player like Lamar, a player like Roquan Smith, who also represented himself. Every day you see the commitment [and] They understand where they come from. So it’s definitely a different dynamic.”
Rather than approaching the franchise tag deadline with some sort of traction on Tuesday, it looks and sounds like the Ravens and Jackson are no closer to a long-term deal. Meanwhile, the two sides are trading behind-the-scenes leaks that offer differing narratives about the kind of deal Jackson is after.
All clues from league and union sources have been that Jackson is seeking a long-term, fully guaranteed deal similar to the one signed by Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson last year. This is despite a report from ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith that Jackson is not seeking a fully guaranteed deal, which continues to be shot down by multiple sources familiar with Jackson-Ravens negotiations.
The next five days will reveal what it all means, with the ultimate answer likely to be whatever form Team Jackson puts on the franchise tag, followed by his subsequent reaction to the move. He either accepts the tag and goes into the off-season with the team, or he rejects it and asks for a trade. What seems less likely by the day is a last-minute overtime.
The deadline for this is drawing to a close. And the only change that has taken place is that things around the Ravens have gotten worse rather than better.