National Football League

How should the Ravens handle Lamar Jackson's franchise tag situation?

Updated Feb. 22, 2023 1:55 p.m. ET

The Baltimore Ravens are officially on the clock as to what they want to do with Lamar Jackson's future.

The window for teams to use the franchise tag on impending free agents opened on Tuesday. Jackson, who was the NFL's MVP in 2019, is the biggest name in the impending free-agent pool, as he and the Ravens have failed to come to an agreement on a long-term deal since negotiations between the two sides opened last offseason.

Baltimore is reportedly expected to place the franchise tag on Jackson prior to the March 7 deadline. The question for the Ravens is which franchise tag will they use. They can give Jackson the non-exclusive franchise tag, which is less costly at $32.4 million, but would allow other teams to sign him at the cost of two first-round picks. Or they can give him the more expensive exclusive tag, which is roughly worth $45 million, but would allow the Ravens more power to dictate Jackson's future.

Emmanuel Acho believes that once the Ravens place the franchise tag on Jackson, the quarterback has a key question to answer.

"One question for Lamar Jackson: Are you willing to play under the tag? If the answer to that is no, then the Ravens better find a way to trade Lamar Jackson for a haul," Acho said on Tuesday's "Speak."

Acho thinks that Jackson still sits in a good spot whether he's franchise tagged or not.

"We've seen the tag work out for Dak Prescott. We've seen the tag work out for Kirk Cousins. So, playing under the tag is not the worse thing in the world for Lamar Jackson," Acho said. "You'll make roughly $45 million in one year, right here, right now. Then, you could be in this situation again next year with another tag and make around $60 million, or you can hit the market and get that real big money that you want."

Are Lamar Jackson and Ravens heading for a divorce?

"Speak" debates what the Ravens and Lamar Jackson should do as the period to franchise tag players opened Tuesday.

On the flip side, Joy Taylor thinks the pressure is on Baltimore to handle this situation. She said that she has "no sympathy for the Ravens" because it's their turn to pay the piper.

"The more that I look at what Deshaun Watson was paid, what Kyler Murray was paid and what the other top quarterbacks were paid around the league, Lamar Jackson has every right to demand all the money he is owed," Taylor said. "It's his turn to get paid.

"Unless the Ravens want to continue playing this quarterback carousel where they never pay big money to a quarterback, which is one way of doing business. I don't know in recent years how that's really worked out for a team long term, moving on from someone like Lamar Jackson. They can try it, but Lamar Jackson should get all the money he's owed."

The extensions Watson and Murray signed last offseason have been used as comparable deals for Jackson, given that the three QBs are close in age and accomplishments. Watson received a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract from the Browns and Murray received a five-year, $230.5 million deal with $160 million guaranteed from the Cardinals.

Jackson was reportedly seeking a fully guaranteed offer from the Ravens prior to pausing extension talks at the start of the regular season. Baltimore's best offer then was a five-year deal worth more than $250 million with $133 million guaranteed, ESPN reported.

The Ravens have already made changes this offseason on the offensive side of the ball, hiring Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken after Baltimore OC Greg Roman stepped down in January. At his introductory press conference on Tuesday, Monken didn't seem too concerned about the possibility of Jackson holding out and not participating in offseason workouts.

"Sure, he'll be behind, but it's still just football," Monken said. "Sometimes we make this out to be way too much. We'll cater to what he knows and play."

Monken also had high praise for the quarterback.

"He's got an elite skill set," Monken said. "I think he's underrated as a passer in terms of his ability to make plays and throw it down the field. I'm no different than you. I've watched what you guys watch, and it's pretty amazing."

In 12 games last season, Jackson completed 62.3% of his passes for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions to go along with 764 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. He missed the final five regular-season games plus the Ravens' playoff game due to a knee injury.

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