It appears that the Baltimore Ravens are getting desperate to keep Lamar Jackson around. They recently made a last-ditch effort to retain their franchise quarterback by signing wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to a one-year deal that has the chance of being worth $18 million if he hits all of his incentives.
While this is a solid effort from a team that does not have a great track record of signing big-name weapons on offense, it may not be enough to keep Lamar on the team. There are three teams that stand out amongst the rest to have Jackson on their roster next season.
1. San Francisco 49ers
The first team that has a chance of putting together a deal for Jackson is the San Francisco 49ers. Last season, the 49ers seemed poised for a Super Bowl run, however, their chances quickly fleeted after they had a handful of quarterbacks unable to play. While Jackson has suffered through injuries throughout the past two seasons, he may be the missing piece to making San Francisco Super Bowl favorites.
Jackson would play a much less physically demanding role if he were to join the 49ers. They have a plethora of offensive weapons that can take the defensive heat off of him. The teams would have to get creative to make a deal happen and the Ravens would have to forgo their right to automatically receive two first-round picks for Jackson. However, if the 49ers are able to sell Baltimore on either Trey Lance or Brock Purdy, and pair them with a first-round pick in 2024, it could be enough to land Jackson on the San Francisco roster.
2. Indianapolis Colts
Another franchise that could take the risk on Jackson is the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts have been a middle-of-the-road team for the past few seasons and have attempted to plug in aging veteran quarterbacks to fill the void. This model is clearly not working, and they have a solid defense along with a promising running back in Jonathan Taylor. It appears that they will miss out on Bryce Young, and C.J. Stroud, and they appear to be the only “sure thing” quarterbacks in this class. Rather than taking a risk with their 4th overall pick, they could trade it along with a first-round pick in 2024 to land Jackson.
If he were to join the team, it would create one of the most dominant rushing duos in the league between Jackson and Taylor. While the receiving core in Indianapolis could use some work, they could make some efforts to improve this through the draft.
3. Baltimore Ravens
The final team with a strong chance of landing Jackson is the Baltimore Ravens. It appears that he is very excited about the Odell signing, and the two were recently seen out partying together. There is a very strong chance that Beckham Jr. would not have signed a deal with Baltimore if he was not confident that they would have Jackson on the roster next season.
However, some could say that Baltimore gave him an offer that no other team was willing to give and he signed with the team that gave him the most money regardless of the talent on the roster. Jackson remaining on the team will boil down to the front office opening their pocketbooks and giving the contract he has earned as an MVP winner.
