Arena The Official NFL Discussion Thread

Remember this name: Terrace Marshall Jr. this kid is a stud and has been horrifically underused in our system. Allegedly, some of this is his fault due to some conflicts in camp, but there’s a future where he becomes a huge threat if we COULD JUST GET A QB.

In more panthers discussions, I am hoping we get a chance at Stroud or Levis. It’s time, Carolina, I know that we don’t trade in the draft too often and I know under Rhule we were deadset on drafting defense (which is why our defense is pretty nice right now) but… ITS TIME. We need a young gunner at QB. Make it happen or risk me switching fandoms

 

I hope you guys do get Stroud. I don’t want both Young and Stroud in our division. Levis is terrible so I hope the Colts take him.

 

Good question. I just changed my vote from Eagles to Meteor.

 

Daniel Jones is apparently asking for $45 million AAV. If I were GM, I'd start seriously seeking out other options the moment I heard that, and put Jones on the backburner, not coming back to him until other options failed. I'd also tag him and look for other options next year before I gave him that.

I'd be calling Jimmy G and Derek Carr, and asking the Ravens about Lamar. Jimmy G is probably better and would cost less, and they could probably get similar production from Jacoby Brissett for a third of the price. If these options fall through, I'd just tag Daniel Jones and try again next year. Then I'd tag him again, like Wash did with Cousins.

Idk, maybe they can talk him under $40 million. Maybe Daboll can coach him up like he did with Allen.

 

There will be a QB that will be horribly overpaid either this year or next with the market in somewhat of a flux.

Daniel Jones and his agent are probably thinking “why not Us?”

 

The fact that Carr has to wait to find out about his job because some nut is on a darkness retreat is wild.

 

Everyone seems to think the Ravens can just trade Lamar. To do that, assuming Lamar doesn't sign a long-term deal with the Ravens (which doesn't look likely) and gets tagged (likely), they'd have to trade him before the start of free agency, which is when his contract expires. After that point, he can't be traded until he signs a long-term deal or signs his franchise tender, because only players on the active roster are eligible to be traded, and Lamar would not be on the active roster unless and until he signs a deal (long-term or the franchise tender). After mid-March, Lamar can totally prevent a trade by simply refusing to sign a deal at all and sitting out the year and daring the Ravens to tag him a second time.

 

I mean…. They can trade him or tag him with the non exclusive tag which another team can sign him, agree to terms, and then send 2 first round picks away to get him.

Right? Am I misunderstanding something?

Also…. Couldn’t they sign him to the deal he wants and trade him to a team that agrees to pay him OR work with another team to get him the money he wants, the compensation they want, and move on?

 

Yep. jcgoble's scenario is possible, but there are plenty of ways to work it out if Lamar wants to go and has already verbally agreed to a new deal with his new team. Other players have done this. Lamar can prevent a trade, or he can facilitate one, if he wants to. I have no idea what he wants, because he's been so cagey about it. The whole situation is honestly confusing. I don't get it. I don't get what's happening.

That's why I said I would ask. To find out what's going on and what's possible. If nothing's possible, then I would move on.

 

I think he wants guarantees in excess of 200 million.

The ravens’ offer was like 133 guaranteed. Which could have been taken as an insult.

I think the Ravens don’t want to pay him because they don’t believe that he’s transcendent enough. I doubt very seriously they’d be hesitating to pay Burrow or Allen.

 

I think it's more likely they're worried about injury than ability, because his ability is almost entirely dependent on maintaining healthy legs. The guy has taken a ton of hits. He's actually great at avoiding hits, great at avoiding big hits, just like Barry Sanders was, but he runs the ball so many damn times, that even taking hits at a low percentage still adds up to a large number of hits. ESPN said before the season that he had been hit more than 700 times during his career, which is more than 100 more hits than the next QB in that span. Baltimore keeps trying to downplay it publicly, but some of the stuff they say doesn't make sense.

I wouldn't give him quite that much guaranteed, either. Lamar is playing a dangerous game.

 

I feel like when you have a franchise QB, you pay them. I don’t remember hearing **** about Josh Allen taking hits when it was time for him to get paid, all I heard was …. Nothing because there was nothing to talk about.

When you sign a QB to a 4-5 year contract, ANYTHING can happen to him over that term. It’s about trying to win in the next 2-3 years. Will Lamar Jackson still be playing football in 3 years? Yes. Will he be playing in 10 years? Probably not. When are franchises trying to win? Now. So there shouldn’t be a lot of discussion. In my opinion.

 

Meh, people have mentioned Josh Allen taking big hits. I certainly have. The difference is Josh Allen can throw the ball well, so he's not nearly as heavily reliant on his legs as Lamar.

If you want to talk about winning now, I can mention that Lamar hasn't won a ****ing thing and hasn't even been healthy down the stretch the last two seasons. They missed the playoffs in 2021 because he was out and nearly missed the playoffs again this year because he was out. One can see why they wouldn't be overeager to give Lamar whatever he wants for more of that. Can't win with him if he doesn't play.

 

I’m not a fan of “we haven’t won with him therefore we can’t win with him.”

Josh Allen and Joe Burrow have won exactly the same amount of super bowls as Lamar. You pay your QB what the market dictates. The only reason Lamar’s contract is even so hotly debated is because the Watson deal upset the market and it’s trying to find an equilibrium. It’s not entirely based on how the ravens feel about Lamar’s ability because if he said yes, they would happily have him for the next 4-5 years.

 

Me neither. We had Stafford. I knew he was the guy even as a lot of Lions fans doubted him. I told everyone he would win the moment he left Detroit, and he did.

Anyway, they're negotiating. Anything that can be used, will be used. They'll use his injuries to knock millions off his contract, or at least try to.

I don't agree that you just pay a guy whatever the market dictates. Sometimes the market is wrong. I would use my own judgment to determine what a guy is worth, how much is just too much, I wouldn't let the market determine it for me (look at Watson and Wilson, two of the worst QBs in the NFL this year). I think it's a viable course to move on from him, though I definitely wouldn't want to go that route. I'd try to keep him. But if he just won't compromise at all, I'd start looking at trades, or whatever I can do. I'm not giving him a fully guaranteed contract. That's where I'd draw the line. I'd be willing to reset the market in terms of AAV, but not fully guaranteed.

Just look at RG3. Imagine if Washington had given him a huge contract with huge guarantees. Look at the disaster that would have been.

 

The Titans have released Taylor Lewan, Robert Woods and our kicker Randy Bullock. I don’t really care about the other two but Lewan will be missed. It needed to happen since he can’t seem to stay healthy but still sad to see him go. He was a good one.

 

I beg to differ.

The Lamar deal is complicated by another reason: the injury exposure of a running QB.

Of course, Allen didn't get that scrutiny because he's a white running QB. But he should have. Durability and long term playing career matters in long guaranteed contracts for sure.

Obviously Lamar still will and should get paid. But I totally understand why the Ravens are gunshy. I also firmly believe an actual agent would have gotten him a deal last year.

 

Yeah and they wound up with three very different seasons too. Including a Super Bowl MVP. So I'm personally extremely excited about this.