Lamar Jackson is the best free agent out there, even if a team other than the Baltimore Ravens is looking to acquire him and may have to give up several first-round draft picks.
The Atlanta Falcons are a team of young players who are poised to break through next season. Falcons team owner Arthur Blank made it clear he would stick with Desmond Ridder as the starting quarterback, even though the former Cincinnati standout had just two touchdown passes in the four games he started.
Blank said on Tuesday he was impressed by how far Ridder had come from the day he entered the facility to the final game of the 2022 season.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Desmond Ridder #4 of the Atlanta Falcons battles with the ball against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 8, 2023 in Atlanta. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
But what about Jackson? The Ravens quarterback could transform the franchise, and it appeared the Falcons were on the lookout for a quarterback last season since they were finalists for Deshaun Watson, despite Watson being in the middle of two dozen civil lawsuits alleging allegations against him sexual misconduct. The team reportedly refused to give Watson a fully guaranteed contract.
Blank explained that the situation is different this year than last and bemoaned the limitations the team would have if they invested a quarter of the team’s money in a single player.
LAMAR JACKSON BACK ON INJURY-PRONE CONVERSATION: ‘LET’S GET REAL’
Quarterback Lamar Jackson, #8 of the Baltimore Ravens, warms up before their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at M&T Bank Stadium on December 20, 2020 in Baltimore. (Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)
“I think we’ve been investigating for the past year, and that’s been our responsibility,” Blank said via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution of a possible Watson deal. “We haven’t explored it deeply, deeply. We’ve spent some time doing this from a legal standpoint, a personal standpoint, a player value standpoint, and a variety of things. Shortly after we started researching, we decided it wasn’t a very good match.”
He added: “I think Lamar’s situation and I don’t really want to spend a lot of time talking about players from other clubs, but I think Lamar’s situation is very different. A different player. A different time.”
The statement did not square with the NFL world.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank looks on prior to the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field September 25, 2022 in Seattle. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Atlanta was in the mix for the NFC South title, finishing 7-10. The team hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2017 season — the same year they last finished with a .500-plus record.
Source : www.foxnews.com