The New England Patriots take on the Baltimore Ravens this weekend and in his weekly press conference, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was asked about Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
In true Belichick fashion, he didn’t show any public emotion but he did praise Jackson for what he’s done as he’s in his fifth NFL season. When asked about whether or not Jackson answered people’s pre-draft concerns, Belichick said, “Without a doubt. He’s the type of player that’s an MVP type of candidate. I think he’s more than answered them. Wait until we see what his contract is, that will answer them.”
Bill Belichick on if Lamar Jackson has answered all the pre-draft concerns people had with him:
“Without a doubt. He’s the type of players that’s an MVP candidate. … Wait until we see what his contract is, that will answer them."
(🎥 @Patriots)
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 21, 2022
Jackson was in the midst of negotiating a long-term deal, one that he and the Ravens weren’t able to come to terms on. Jackson is currently on a base salary of $23 million as the Ravens exercised a fifth-year option but that was after being on a rookie contract that was paying him less than $3 million/year and the 2019 NFL MVP was looking at more of a long-term guaranteed deal that more matched a top NFL QB.
In regards to Belichick, he had two chances to draft Jackson before he was ultimately drafted by the Ravens with the 32nd overall pick in 2018. The Patriots took offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn, who remains a starter for them while taking Sony Michel the pick before Jackson. Given that these two players made a positive impact to the team and that they had Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo at that time, I guess there was a good reason the Patriots didn’t go for Jackson. That being said, given how his career has gone, some teams probably regretted not getting him when they had the chance.