During the offseason, the Baltimore Ravens placed an unrestricted franchise tag on quarterback Lamar Jackson which would have allowed any other team in the league to negotiate a contract with him. While no teams ultimately did that, there were at least talks that the New England Patriots could have been interested, and Bill Belichick addressed that this week.
Given the Patriots’ situation at the quarterback position, Lamar Jackson would have certainly been a major addition to the roster. But during an appearance on the Greg Hill Show Bill Belichick seemed to indicate that it was unrealistic for them to add or pursue Jackson.
“There’s a lot of things that go on in the offseason. Each player has his own story. But, look, in Lamar’s case … there was a lot of, I would say, there would have been a lot of moving parts on that one anyway,” Belichick said according to Dakota Randall.
Bill Belichick asked on @TheGregHillShow about last year's Patriots-Lamar Jackson rumors:
"There's a lot of things that go on in the offseason. Each player has his own story. But, look, in Lamar's case … there was a lot of, I would say, there would have been a lot of moving…
— Dakota Randall (@DakRandall) January 2, 2024
“But you know, I’ll discuss the players that are on the team, not the ones that aren’t on it. I mean, there’s a lot of players out there that were available. They’re always available during the offseason. We talked to some of the players, some of the agents and all that. But those are all … those conversations are on a whole other level. So, stick to the guys that are here,” Belichick said.
Obviously, adding Jackson would have solved a lot of their problems at quarterback, but it didn’t happen.
