The Falcons made headlines earlier this week after being listed among several quarterback-needy teams who immediately declined to pursue Lamar Jackson following the Ravens’ decision to give him the non-exclusive franchise tag. On Friday, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport shed more light on the reason behind Atlanta’s approach.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, Rapoport first noted that only the Bears and Falcons, the teams with the most cap space, have the means to extend an offer sheet to the former MVP that “would make it almost impossible for Baltimore to match.” However, the desire to do so, per Rapoport, has been impacted a few key reasons, including the 26-year-old’s goal of obtaining a fully guaranteed contract and the fact that “a lot of teams think the Ravens will match a Lamar Jackson offer sheet no matter what.”
Still, the Falcons appear to many as a viable spot for Jackson, with the team boasting the second-most cap space ($63.8 million) and a path to creating more. But as Rapoport also explained, Falcons brass would be wary of such a deal considering the constraints it would place on the team entering free agency.
“Let’s say the Falcons say, ‘Alright, we’re gonna give Lamar Jackson a fully guaranteed contract.’ You have to hand over a check to the league office of $250 million, fully guaranteed, right away. That is a disincentive for teams to do that,” he told McAfee.
Rapoport went on to say that the hypothetical scenario of Atlanta allocating $250 million to Jackson would also essentially prohibit the club from doing anything else over the five days Baltimore would have to match the deal. Teams can begin negotiating with players when free agency opens on March 13, and start signing free agents on March 15.
With Jackson likely remaining out of the Falcons’s plans, the club is poised to enter the 2023 season with second-year QB Desmond Ridder under center. Ridder, who took over for Marcus Mariota in Week 15, logged 708 yards and two touchdowns in his four starts.
