Its no secret that Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens don't have the best relationship right now due to his contract situation. Jackson has made it public that he isn't happy by posting subtle shots at the Ravens and has even openly flirted with the Idea of being traded to the Carolina Panthers. Jackson is going to get paid very handsomely (as he should) but there's a very real possibility that the Ravens won't be the ones that give him all of the money that he's asking for.
All of this should be music to the ears of Houston Texans GM Nick Caserio and the whole Texans organization. The Ravens have a disgruntled All-Pro QB that wants a big payday and the Texans have a gaping hole at QB and a bunch of cap space to allocate to paying a quarterback like Lamar Jackson.
So why not just make it happen? Well... It isn't that easy.
All signs are pointing towards the Ravens placing the franchise tag on Lamar Jackson, it would be an absolute stunner if they didn't. Not placing the tag on him would allow him to walk and sign with whichever team he pleases and the Ravens would get no compensation for him at all. The odds of this happening are next to none, so the Texans are going to have to give up picks to acquire Lamar from Baltimore and they would also have to give him a massive contract extension like he has been asking for before he would be able to be traded to Houston. The Ravens are, obviously, going to ask for a boatload of picks for Lamar since he is right in the middle of his prime and already an NFL MVP, and the contract he would receive in this hypothetical would reset the QB contract market.
Just how much would it take to trade for Lamar Jackson?
Texans fans could look at a past trade that they know very well as a baseline for a potential Lamar Jackson trade package.The Houston Texans sent former All-Pro QB Deshaun Watson and a 6th round pick to the Cleveland Browns for 3 first round picks, 1 third round pick, and a fourth round pick. This might just be the start of the package for anyone wanting to trade for Jackson. When Watson was traded, he was in the middle of all of his allegations and court hearing and had held out for a year after requesting a trade. Yes he was an excellent QB, but with all of his questions off the field it was a major risk trading for him. Although Jackson has had injury issues, he is a great leader off the field and has no other questions about him like Watson did.
Would the Texans be willing to give up more than that package above for Lamar Jackson? They might be, but I don't think it would be the best idea for a rebuilding team like the Texans to give up significant draft capital for a QB even if an ultra talented QB like Lamar Jackson becomes available. Sure, the Texans get much better with Lamar at the helm. But without those draft picks, a roster that already lacks talent, and no cap space (since the money would have to go to Lamar) are we sure that team would be a playoff team?
And for Lamar, how excited would he be to go from a team with a top defense in the NFL and talent everywhere to a team that has one of the worst defenses on paper? I'll just say he probably isn't jumping out of his chair to get traded to Houston. For him, this deal just wouldn't make much sense besides him getting the money he has always been asking for.
Getting Lamar Jackson is defenitely a pipe dream for the Texans. But, much crazier things have happened in the NFL so you never know.
Let us know if you would like to see Lamar Jackson in Battle Red and Steele Blue!