The Official 2023 NFL Off-Season Thread

[BucsNBills]

Ravens sent notice to the NFLPA that they placed the $32.41 million non-exclusive franchise tag on QB Lamar Jackson. He now is allowed to negotiate with other teams, but the Ravens have the right to match any offer sheet he signs or take two first-round picks in return for him.

Hello Atlanta!

Very interested to see if there's any contact between Lamar and the Bucs now.

[Phantom]

Hello Atlanta!

Very interested to see if there's any contact between Lamar and the Bucs now.

We can’t afford him, no way in hell the Bucs contact Lamar agent

$250+ million insane

[BucsNBills]

Very interested to see if there's any contact between Lamar and the Bucs now.

We can’t afford him, no way in hell the Bucs contact Lamar agent

$250+ million insane

Of course we can. Year 1 he's playing on bonus money and his cap hit will just be prorated money. If Licht wants Lamar Jackson, making the money work is the easier part of the equation.

[Bootz]

It'll be a nine figure deal and a half dozen picks when it's all said and done.

Ravens have no leverage here. They would've hit him with the exclusive tag. Teams have no incentive to negotiate with them at all. Lamar will have his pick of team now and it'll only cost 2 1sts. By contrast, the Browns sent Cleveland 3 1sts, a 3rd and 2 4ths for Deshaun Watson.

Baltimore gets Donkey of the year already

[Bootz]

Sooooooo they were offering less?

[BucsNBills]

It'll be a nine figure deal and a half dozen picks when it's all said and done.

Ravens have no leverage here. They would've hit him with the exclusive tag. Teams have no incentive to negotiate with them at all. Lamar will have his pick of team now and it'll only cost 2 1sts. By contrast, the Browns sent Cleveland 3 1sts, a 3rd and 2 4ths for Deshaun Watson.

Baltimore gets Donkey of the year already

How aggressive do you want us to be with pursuing Jackson(assuming we are)? Do we just say fuck it, hand him the bag, fully guaranteed and happily send the Ravens 2 firsts?

[Snake]

This Lamar thing is amazing. Baltimore knows more about him than anyone.

They know exactly how much they’d be willing to spend. And not a dollar more. And they probably have a decent idea on the market, too.

[Bootz]

Ravens have no leverage here. They would've hit him with the exclusive tag. Teams have no incentive to negotiate with them at all. Lamar will have his pick of team now and it'll only cost 2 1sts. By contrast, the Browns sent Cleveland 3 1sts, a 3rd and 2 4ths for Deshaun Watson.

Baltimore gets Donkey of the year already

How aggressive do you want us to be with pursuing Jackson(assuming we are)? Do we just say fuck it, hand him the bag, fully guaranteed and happily send the Ravens 2 firsts?

My heart says "Do it, Dom". Figure the money out later. 2 1sts for a top 10, borderline top 5 QB?? Highway robbery. Convince me the Bucs with Lamar Jackson don't instantly become a top team in the NFC....

My mind knows we won't even make a call though. So I'm not even gonna get my hopes up. This Brady Bill needs to be paid. But dammit, this would be amazing.

[BucsNBills]

How aggressive do you want us to be with pursuing Jackson(assuming we are)? Do we just say fuck it, hand him the bag, fully guaranteed and happily send the Ravens 2 firsts?

My heart says "Do it, Dom". Figure the money out later. 2 1sts for a top 10, borderline top 5 QB?? Highway robbery. Convince me the Bucs with Lamar Jackson don't instantly become a top team in the NFC....

My mind knows we won't even make a call though. So I'm not even gonna get my hopes up. This Brady Bill needs to be paid. But dammit, this would be amazing.

Right there with you. Then again, there was the talks of making a "homerun swing" at QB from Stroud so maybe they've got a plan in OBP.

How good is our offense with just maybe an addition to the Oline, Jackson, Evans, Godwin, White, and Otton? Think we can compete with the top dogs? Personally I ain't scared of anyone with that crew, and there's still the possibility of adding more firepower in the 2nd or 3rd and later.

What's the worst that can happen, really? Who the hell is going to blame us or look badly at us for trading for Jackson?

Just make this shit happen. Between Brady and Jackson that would give the Bucs like a decade straight of not having to worry about the QB position, which would be completely foreign to the team and fanbase.

And let's not forget Jackson loves South Florida and would probably like nothing more than playing in the area.

I'm staying very very cautiously optimistic because I agree that getting my hopes up seems to be a recipe for self destruction :

[Snake]

You just make the first year cheap and guarantee the rest. Watson contract 2.0. Cap chicanery to get under the cap.

Convince LVD et all the window is wiiiiide open.

From arguably least mobile QB to most mobile. O-line concerns partially ameliorated.

[BucsNBills]

You just make the first year cheap and guarantee the rest. Watson contract 2.0. Cap chicanery to get under the cap.

Convince LVD et all the window is wiiiiide open.

From arguably least mobile QB to most mobile. O-line concerns partially ameliorated.

This is big imo. It means we don't have to have some bullet proof oline. Just get average with no liabilities and we're good to go.

[Grahamburn]

It'll be a nine figure deal and a half dozen picks when it's all said and done.

Ravens have no leverage here. They would've hit him with the exclusive tag. Teams have no incentive to negotiate with them at all. Lamar will have his pick of team now and it'll only cost 2 1sts. By contrast, the Browns sent Cleveland 3 1sts, a 3rd and 2 4ths for Deshaun Watson.

Baltimore gets Donkey of the year already

Interesting. The Ravens have no leverage? They can match any offer or let him go and get two 1sts. They can match the offer and THEN trade him for more if they'd like to. OR, they can match the offer and keep him as their QB. They have all the leverage.

[_MB_]

It'll be a nine figure deal and a half dozen picks when it's all said and done.

How do you figure on the picks?

More than one bidder

[Bootz]

[BucsNBills]

Lol and the Ravens are trying to penny pinch with Jackson?

Fuck it, if I'm Licht, I make a 5 year, $250 million, 100% guaranteed deal to Jackson right now. Throw in a no franchise and no trade clause to sweeten the pot.

If the Ravens match it, fine, but if not, we now have a franchise QB for the next half decade and beyond and all it cost was two 1st round picks.

[_MB_]

I'd take it up the ass one time for a quarter billion dollars.

Want proof? Let me see the money.

[Bootz]

Ravens have no leverage here. They would've hit him with the exclusive tag. Teams have no incentive to negotiate with them at all. Lamar will have his pick of team now and it'll only cost 2 1sts. By contrast, the Browns sent Cleveland 3 1sts, a 3rd and 2 4ths for Deshaun Watson.

Baltimore gets Donkey of the year already

Interesting. The Ravens have no leverage? They can match any offer or let him go and get two 1sts. They can match the offer and THEN trade him for more if they'd like to. OR, they can match the offer and keep him as their QB. They have all the leverage.

2 1sts for a player of Lamar Jackson's caliber is bad GMing. Deshaun Watson went for 3 1sts and more. Hell Trey Lance went for 3 1sts.

They couldn't match the offer then trade him. Nor would they get any value if they tried. Plus, If a team signs him to an offer sheet that's more than they intended to sign him to, why would they match it?

They don't have leverage here.

[Bootz]

Lol and the Ravens are trying to penny pinch with Jackson?

Fuck it, if I'm Licht, I make a 5 year, $250 million, 100% guaranteed deal to Jackson right now. Throw in a no franchise and no trade clause to sweeten the pot.

If the Ravens match it, fine, but if not, we now have a franchise QB for the next half decade and beyond and all it cost was two 1st round picks.

If the Ravens were gonna match that deal they'd have already signed Lamar.

[Bootz]

Plus, here's the thing about matching the deal if you're Baltimore. If you intend to match by letting another team negotiate for you, you need a new GM or money team. Because whatever team signs Lamar to a sheet, I promise you it'll be more than Baltimore reportedly offered.

[Doctor]

Watson and Lamar situations are very different.

Ravens could and probably should get far more for Lamar than the Texans got for Watson, but they won't because they have no leverage. This is the difference between doing this on the 5th year option vs the FT.

Also Raven would actually like to keep and pay Lamar, at their price. The non exclusive tag is really the only way to work this out. This is a huge moment for the QB position and the sport.

[Doctor]

I'd take it up the ass one time for a quarter billion dollars.

Want proof? Let me see the money.

"one time"

[Snake]

Now that he's tagged, that leaves the following paths forward?

1. negotiate a new deal with Baltimore.
2. sign with other team, team sends picks.
3. sign with Baltimore for the other team's agreed to terms, if Baltimore wants to.
4. A sign-and-trade.

That it?

[Navybuc]

The Giants gotta give Daniel Jones help. It’s amazing he did as good as he did last year with maybe the worst OL in the NFL and a #1 and #2 WR that probably wouldn’t have even made our roster. They have nobody around him and Barkley. Put some talent around them and the Giants can be something.

[Bootz]

As good as he did? The guy threw 15 TD passes. He's trash. Brian Daboll basically neutered him and turned him into a pro option QB.

[Snake]

Ravens are betting no team is about to step up and Watson his next deal. This is gonna be wild.

[Bootz]

Ravens are betting no team is about to step up and Watson his next deal. This is gonna be wild.

If we're believing all reports, they are also better no team will match or exceed their $133mil in guarantees figure either.

[Snake]

Lamar...

- is entering his age 26 season.
- has four full seasons as a starter.
- has 45-16 record.

[Grahamburn]

Interesting. The Ravens have no leverage? They can match any offer or let him go and get two 1sts. They can match the offer and THEN trade him for more if they'd like to. OR, they can match the offer and keep him as their QB. They have all the leverage.

They couldn't match the offer then trade him. Nor would they get any value if they tried.

Why?

[Snake]

Couldn’t they poison pill the contract? And make it heavy dead cap where the Ravens are screwed to trade him immediately?

[Grahamburn]

Couldn’t they poison pill the contract? And make it heavy dead cap where the Ravens are screwed to trade him immediately?

Put in a no trade clause, but if you're a team offering a deal to Lamar that he's willing to accept you also need some of your own leverage. I'd think if any team is giving Lamar the type of deal he seems to want they wouldn't also grant a no trade.

I honestly don't know. Maybe there's some inherent rule? But, if I'm the Ravens I'd think they can still match any contract offer and keep Lamar. Then trade him on the open market for more than just two 1sts.

It's basically a way for Lamar to shop his services to get the contract he wants. Maybe it's a humbling experience and he comes back to the Ravens with his tail between his legs?

[Snake]

The ravens are allowed to match any contract. That must mean they have to match the structure as well, right? Disbursements of cash, roster bonuses, Etc?

[Grahamburn]

The ravens are allowed to match any contract. That must mean they have to match the structure as well, right? Disbursements of cash, roster bonuses, Etc?

Correct. I don't see why that would prevent them from trading him to another team afterward though. Hell, they could trade him to the team that offered it to him after they matched it simply because they want more than the 2 1sts, and if they don't get it they just keep him.

Anyway, my point was the Ravens have all the leverage. If they want Lamar he isn't going anywhere. That's the definition of leverage.

[Bootz]

The ravens are allowed to match any contract. That must mean they have to match the structure as well, right? Disbursements of cash, roster bonuses, Etc?

Yep. Including any no trade clause.

[Snake]

The ravens are allowed to match any contract. That must mean they have to match the structure as well, right? Disbursements of cash, roster bonuses, Etc?

Correct. I don't see why that would prevent them from trading him to another team afterward though. Hell, they could trade him to the team that offered it to him after they matched it simply because they want more than the 2 1sts, and if they don't get it they just keep him.

Anyway, my point was the Ravens have all the leverage. If they want Lamar he isn't going anywhere. That's the definition of leverage.

Don’t they proceed to eat all of the guaranteed money by trading him If they re-sign him first?

guess they could re-sign him for not much, then trade his rights to another team, who send picks back (more than two 1sts) and then agree to a new deal with Lamar? Gentlemens agreement.

[Bootz]

They couldn't match the offer then trade him. Nor would they get any value if they tried.

Why?

#1 signing a player and then trading them opens yourself up to take massive dead cap hits. Let's assume a team signs Lamar to a 5 year $225mil deal with a $70mil signing bonus and Baltimore matches. Trading him would mean they eat that entire $70mil signing bonus up front. That's $70mil in dead money. It wouldn't happen. Additionally any other bonuses tied to the deal, Baltimore's salary cap would be on the hook for. Fiscally it would not be realistic.


Edit: Close to what @Snake said. They wouldn't eat all guarantee money but they would eat all bonus money as it's paid out up front and prorated.