NEWSLETTER
If you’re looking for a juicy Tom-Giselle opinion, you’re in the wrong place. Monday morning quarterbacking people’s personal lives isn’t my thing, but I will Monday morning quarterback owners that need to pay their quarterbacks!
Pay Lamar Jackson!
Show [him] the money!
Lamar Jackson held up a sign created by a fan that read ‘Pay E’m Now’ after the Ravens’ Week 8 victory over the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. Jackson even signed it for the fan before he hit the visiting locker room at Raymond James Stadium.
Everyone knows that Lamar needs to get paid, and it’s even showing up on the road now!
Jackson threw for 238 yards and a pair of touchdowns and ran for 43 yards on nine carries in the Ravens’ victory over the Bucs, completing 71.1 percent of his passes along the way.
The former Louisville Cardinal has defied all the odds and popular opinion since he arrived in the NFL. Remember when he wasn’t suited to be a quarterback? Good times. He’s now an MVP Award-winning quarterback. He’s been to the playoffs, he’s been on the cover of EA Sports’ famed Madden NFL series, and he’s been the starting quarterback in a pro bowl, all in his first four seasons in the NFL.
Jackson is betting on himself again for the payday of a lifetime, and he’s winning that one hugely. The fifth-year quarterback has 1,635 yards, 15 touchdowns, and a 92.4 passer rating through eight weeks. Jackson has a solid chance of setting new career highs in all of those categories this season. Oh, and he’s rushed for 533 yards, putting him on pace to eclipse his career-best mark of 1,206 yards (2019) this season, running at a clip of nearly eight yards per attempt.
It’s time for Lamar to get paid like the quarterback that he is, and the Ravens will have to back the Brinks truck up to his house this spring if they want to keep him in purple and black.
Checking in on the NFL Trade Market
With the NFL trade deadline right around the corner, we’ve seen a few big trades, and if you buy the buzz, we haven’t seen the last of big names being moved.
The Chiefs landed Patrick Mahomes a new wide receiver in Kadarius Toney in exchange for a third-round and sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The 49ers acquired Christian McCaffrey in a blockbuster deal that sent a bevy of picks to the Carolina Panthers last week. The Bears even got in on the fun by sending veteran edge rusher Robert Quinn to the Philadelphia Eagles with a fourth-rounder coming back to Chicago.
I’m convinced at this point that the Bears are probably done on the trade front, but plenty of other NFL teams need some help. Green Bay should be looking at wide receivers to help Aaron Rodgers with the Packers losers of three straight games.
Denver might be in sell mode if they lay another egg against the Jaguars this weekend. Could Jerry Jeudy be a fit for the Packers? Chase Claypool is another name to keep an eye on when it comes to the Packers search for help in the wide receiver room.
Will the Browns move back up running back Kareem Hunt? If they’re interested, the Los Angeles Rams have a need there and should be considered a candidate to land Hunt.
The Patriots might join the Broncos as sellers on offense. Kendrick Bourne and Isaiah Wynn are names that have been put out there on that front. Nelson Agholor as well, but I can’t see anyone giving up more than a sack of footballs for Agholor, which he’ll probably drop as well.
It should be a fun few days leading up to the deadline, and Sunday’s games will indeed be filled with potential implications for the trade market.
One name you can cross off that list is Antonio Gibson, per Commanders head coach Ron Rivera:
