Today the Baltimore Ravens notified the NFL Players Association that they’ve placed a non-exclusive franchise tag on Lamar Jackson, after months of the two teams being at an impasse over a new deal for their star QB.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted, “Ravens sent notice to the NFLPA that they placed the $32.41 million non-exclusive franchise tag on QB Lamar Jackson. He now is allowed to negotiate with other teams, but Ravens have [the] right to match any offer sheet he signs or take two first-round picks in return for him.”
Franchise tagging Jackson buys the Ravens the time they need to work out an extension, but again, if it hasn’t happened already, then what reason is there to think it would get done next season? Tagging him most likely just means he’ll get traded a little bit later than initially thought.
So where does Lamar Jackson end up? That’s up in the air, but here are some possibilities: