Lamar Jackson

[IIsweet]

Read today that we and the Titans are 2 new teams showing potential interest in Lamar Jackson.
Just curious as to everyone's thoughts?
Obviously, we would have to figure out a way to trade Cousins, among all of the other obstacles...
BUT..... WOULD YOU DO THIS ???

[CharVike]

Would I want him? No way. First he wants a Deshaun Watson contract. There goes signing some of the stars we have in the making. Yes we could sign JJ and Darrisaw but the rest of the team will suck. You can't win with a half baked team. Lamar is 26 and a super star. Why don't the team that drafted him sign him up long term? That is the question that needs to be answered. If he's all world he would be locked up. Somethings not working. What is it? I need that answered first. What has he won? Yes playoffs and dumped. People say they don't want that. The Ravens made the playoffs last year and Lamar missed the last 5 games. So that team must be solid. It was more than just him.

[cmoss84]

I was under the impression we are unable to trade for him since there is a rule pertaining to 1st round picks...and we are short of them. Can anyone confirm this? Unless he would cost less than 1st round picks?

[allday1991]

Would I want him? No way. First he wants a Deshaun Watson contract. There goes signing some of the stars we have in the making. Yes we could sign JJ and Darrisaw but the rest of the team will suck. You can't win with a half baked team. Lamar is 26 and a super star. Why don't the team that drafted him sign him up long term? That is the question that needs to be answered. If he's all world he would be locked up. Somethings not working. What is it? I need that answered first. What has he won? Yes playoffs and dumped. People say they don't want that. The Ravens made the playoffs last year and Lamar missed the last 5 games. So that team must be solid. It was more than just him.

Kc doing fine pay Mahomes more. Can’t believe this argument still exist. Yes you can still build a Super Bowl team around a qb making 50 million a year. Do I personally want Jackson? Not with a fully guaranteed contract that’s for sure. Does a player like Jackson fit our team and produce a better offence that we have, probably yes. Lots to balance here, if the situation is right, sure bring him over.

[CharVike]

Would I want him? No way. First he wants a Deshaun Watson contract. There goes signing some of the stars we have in the making. Yes we could sign JJ and Darrisaw but the rest of the team will suck. You can't win with a half baked team. Lamar is 26 and a super star. Why don't the team that drafted him sign him up long term? That is the question that needs to be answered. If he's all world he would be locked up. Somethings not working. What is it? I need that answered first. What has he won? Yes playoffs and dumped. People say they don't want that. The Ravens made the playoffs last year and Lamar missed the last 5 games. So that team must be solid. It was more than just him.

Kc doing fine pay Mahomes more. Can’t believe this argument still exist. Yes you can still build a Super Bowl team around a qb making 50 million a year. Do I personally want Jackson? Not with a fully guaranteed contract that’s for sure. Does a player like Jackson fit our team and produce a better offence that we have, probably yes. Lots to balance here, if the situation is right, sure bring him over.

KC drafts very well. They had a secondary full of rookies on some packages. If they lose people which they will they pick replacements that can play the game. Mahomes don't miss time like Lamar. So you better have a dam good backup. That's not free. Mahomes has a very good OL we don't. We are in like year 12 trying to rebuild the OL the Chiefs did it in one off season and used every tool in the box to make it happen. Backups, trade and FA. Maybe Jackson don't need an OL. Hurts has 2 all pros on his. That's just the start. A team always needs a good OL. Again the Ravens aren't pushing and there backup is also a FA. Doesn't that seem strange to you?

[allday1991]

Kc doing fine pay Mahomes more. Can’t believe this argument still exist. Yes you can still build a Super Bowl team around a qb making 50 million a year. Do I personally want Jackson? Not with a fully guaranteed contract that’s for sure. Does a player like Jackson fit our team and produce a better offence that we have, probably yes. Lots to balance here, if the situation is right, sure bring him over.

KC drafts very well. They had a secondary full of rookies on some packages. If they lose people which they will they pick replacements that can play the game. Mahomes don't miss time like Lamar. So you better have a dam good backup. That's not free. Mahomes has a very good OL we don't. We are in like year 12 trying to rebuild the OL the Chiefs did it in one off season and used every tool in the box to make it happen. Backups, trade and FA. Maybe Jackson don't need an OL. Hurts has 2 all pros on his. That's just the start. A team always needs a good OL. Again the Ravens aren't pushing and there backup is also a FA. Doesn't that seem strange to you?

Maybe a little however if I’m reading between the lines correctly the key is hitting your draft picks, you could have a qb worth 50 million or not. You mention KC used f/a to fix their oline more proof that you can pay a qb big bucks and still be active in f/a. Regardless a key point to winning is hitting your draft picks and how much you pay your qb doesn’t effect that. I’ll agree Jackson misses to many games to be given 50 mil and year especially guaranteed.

[makila]

I was under the impression we are unable to trade for him since there is a rule pertaining to 1st round picks...and we are short of them. Can anyone confirm this? Unless he would cost less than 1st round picks?

The non-exclusive tag means that the player tagged can still negotiate with other teams. If he reaches an agreement with a team, then two things can happen:

(1) Ravens can match or
(2) Ravens can decline and they get two 1st rnd picks back per the non-exclusive tag.

Edit, those first are one this season and one next. From The Athletic (verifying what I said above:

The more debated decision was what tag the Ravens were going to use. They opted for the non-exclusive tag, which comes with a cheaper $32.4 million price tag but allows Jackson to negotiate a deal with another team. The Ravens then would have five days to decide whether to take on the contract and retain Jackson or let him go for the return of first-round picks in each of the next two drafts.

[J. Kapp 11]

Jackson is one of those guys that I can’t quite decide on. So many pros and cons.

On one hand, his running is otherworldly. It’s not just that he can avoid sacks or run for first downs. He’s a threat to score from anywhere. On the other hand, his running puts him at risk of injury — 10 games missed over the past two years.

On one hand, he has a big arm, and while some blast his accuracy, his completion percentage adjusted for drops and throwaways is only 3 points lower than Cousins. On the other hand, he rarely throws outside the numbers because his accuracy falls off a cliff on those throws. The defense has less field to cover, which can hamper your passing attack.

On one hand, Jackson is an NFL MVP. That’s a player who can dominate. On the other hand, he sat out a lot more games last year than anyone thought he would, which makes me question his desire to play. Was he disgruntled over not having a deal done? If so, that gives me pause.

On one hand, KOC himself was a mobile QB and would likely be able to coach Jackson very well. On the other hand, KOC values accuracy over every other QB trait.

Bottom line, I’m torn on Jackson as a player.

As for the money, he wants a Watson deal. That is a ton of cap space for years to come. Yes, you can field a team around a big cap hit, but then there are the draft picks. Losing our first-round picks for the next two years is pretty much going “full Rams,” and we’re not coming off a Super Bowl.

Finally, there’s the Cousins factor. He’s got us by the short hairs. You’d have to trade him, and he can veto any trade. Even if you find a trade partner he’s willing to authorize, you’re looking at a huge cap hit, since the Vikings just converted a bunch of his salary to signing bonus — all while paying Jackson.

I think I’d be more inclined to find a way to draft a young QB in the first round this year or next. If you’re going to spend the draft capital anyway, I’d prefer the younger, cheaper option.

[Lash Man]

All this FLAP about the Vikings getting LJ is just reporters stirring up stories to get people to click on their articles or podcasts . There is no chance in hell the Vikings take on another teams aging often injured super star QB . Those days are over when they grossly over pay a free agent QB and then have to underpay the rest of the roster . If nothing else from signing captain Kirk O the Vikings have to have gleaned that much .

[Cliff]

Jackson is one of those guys that I can’t quite decide on. So many pros and cons.

On one hand, his running is otherworldly. It’s not just that he can avoid sacks or run for first downs. He’s a threat to score from anywhere. On the other hand, his running puts him at risk of injury — 10 games missed over the past two years.

On one hand, he has a big arm, and while some blast his accuracy, his completion percentage adjusted for drops and throwaways is only 3 points lower than Cousins. On the other hand, he rarely throws outside the numbers because his accuracy falls off a cliff on those throws. The defense has less field to cover, which can hamper your passing attack.

On one hand, Jackson is an NFL MVP. That’s a player who can dominate. On the other hand, he sat out a lot more games last year than anyone thought he would, which makes me question his desire to play. Was he disgruntled over not having a deal done? If so, that gives me pause.

On one hand, KOC himself was a mobile QB and would likely be able to coach Jackson very well. On the other hand, KOC values accuracy over every other QB trait.

Bottom line, I’m torn on Jackson as a player.

As for the money, he wants a Watson deal. That is a ton of cap space for years to come. Yes, you can field a team around a big cap hit, but then there are the draft picks. Losing our first-round picks for the next two years is pretty much going “full Rams,” and we’re not coming off a Super Bowl.

Finally, there’s the Cousins factor. He’s got us by the short hairs. You’d have to trade him, and he can veto any trade. Even if you find a trade partner he’s willing to authorize, you’re looking at a huge cap hit, since the Vikings just converted a bunch of his salary to signing bonus — all while paying Jackson.

I think I’d be more inclined to find a way to draft a young QB in the first round this year or next. If you’re going to spend the draft capital anyway, I’d prefer the younger, cheaper option.

With the current head coach I would be more willing to pay a QB that kind of money. Under Zimmer it didn't make any sense, and even Zimmer said as much before it happened. This team is already built around a pretty large salary QB so it wouldn't be big departure from that. If it sets the QB position for the next 6-8 years it would be worth the two 1st round picks no question. People put a lot of value on 1st round picks but mostly the Vikings do not get Justin Jefferson type players so those two firsts don't hold the same sway as they seem to so many others.

On the other hand, I do generally prefer teams built as actual teams and not completely centered around just offense or just defense. Jackson and Jefferson in this case would eat up a ton of cap space. It's a "all your eggs in one basket" kind of situation and injuries are a concern for Jackson.

The draft picks don't bother me at all.

In a ten year span, between 2010 and 2020 the Vikings have had 14 1st round picks (not counting the 2021 or 2022 draft as the jury is still out and putting two years on in the other direction instead). Only a handful were significant contributors to the team. Less than that for longer than their rookie contracts.

Christian Ponder, Matt Kalil, Harrison Smith, Sharrif Floyd, Xavier Rhodes, Cordarrelle Patterson, Anthony Barr, Teddy Bridgewater, Trae Waynes, Laquon Treadwell, Mike Hughes, Garrett Bradbury, Justin Jefferson, Jeff Gladney.

Significant contributors in bold.

Waynes started for 3 seasons so I didn't count him. Kalil went to a pro bowl but was only with the team for 4 years and injured during one of them. Rhodes started for 4 seasons so you could make an argument either way probably so I'll add him to the mix for arguments sake.

So we've got about a 23%-25% rate to get a decent-to-good contributor. About a 7% chance of hitting on someone like Jefferson. Aside from Jefferson there's no combination of 2 players that I wouldn't trade to have drafted Lamar in the first round instead.

Cousins would require one thing - for any potential trade partner to offer a better deal than he can get (or currently has) from the Vikings. If that team exists a trade can be made.

[CharVike]

All this FLAP about the Vikings getting LJ is just reporters stirring up stories to get people to click on their articles or podcasts . There is no chance in hell the Vikings take on another teams aging often injured super star QB . Those days are over when they grossly over pay a free agent QB and then have to underpay the rest of the roster . If nothing else from signing captain Kirk O the Vikings have to have gleaned that much .

It's just flap nothing more or less.

[Cliff]

All this FLAP about the Vikings getting LJ is just reporters stirring up stories to get people to click on their articles or podcasts . There is no chance in hell the Vikings take on another teams aging often injured super star QB . Those days are over when they grossly over pay a free agent QB and then have to underpay the rest of the roster . If nothing else from signing captain Kirk O the Vikings have to have gleaned that much .

It's just flap nothing more or less.

I agree it's not happening. Fun to talk about though.

[IIsweet]

Hey, I saw something and asked.
Now, here is something that you have not mentioned. With those big $$$ QB's, they do not seem to have a Big $$ WR.
So would you rather have Lamar at QB or JJ at WR ?
If you choose Lamar, there is no doubt that we could get a kings ransom in draft picks for JJ. Plus, JJ is going to get probably $30m/year.
So now.... give up the 1sts for Lamar and give him a huge salary and trade JJ for 2 1sts. Basically trading them for one another. Do you want the QB or the guy that the QB is throwing to ?
OR.... keep JJ and be ready to pony up $30m/year which means we have to add a rookie QB

[Cliff]

Hey, I saw something and asked.
Now, here is something that you have not mentioned. With those big $$$ QB's, they do not seem to have a Big $$ WR.
So would you rather have Lamar at QB or JJ at WR ?
If you choose Lamar, there is no doubt that we could get a kings ransom in draft picks for JJ. Plus, JJ is going to get probably $30m/year.
So now.... give up the 1sts for Lamar and give him a huge salary and trade JJ for 2 1sts. Basically trading them for one another. Do you want the QB or the guy that the QB is throwing to ?
OR.... keep JJ and be ready to pony up $30m/year which means we have to add a rookie QB

Keep JJ and it's not even close.

[Maelstrom88]

So far in his career Lamar hasn't thrown for more than 3,127 in a season. That's pitiful. Now how much of that is scheme and how much is lack of weapons? Could KOC project how much he would gain in his system and whether his skills would translate successfully? How much would he be allowed to use his legs to impact the game? Paying JJ 30 million a year is not feasible imo unless you always have a cheap QB or a cheap defense. Do WRs win or QBs? KC made it look like QB. It's irrelevant because we won't acquire Lamar but it's fun to think about.