Pats Pulpit Reacts: Patriots fans split on Lamar Jackson question

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft raised quite a bit of eyebrows at the NFL owners meetings last week, when he mentioned that Lamar Jackson was apparently interested in joining his team.

The source of that speculation — a text he received from rapper Meek Mill, a mutual friend of both Kraft’s and Jackson’s — might have been a bit suspect, but that did not stop the “Lamar to New England” rumor mill from working overtime again. That said, the Patriots are not expected to pursue the former league MVP this offseason and will instead focus on their in-house quarterbacks, Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe.

Nonetheless, the debate over whether the team should be going after Jackson was a spirited one. The results of the latest SB Nation Reacts survey illustrate this as well, with 62 percent of participating fans in favor and 38 against it.

The debate also was a lively one in one of our Pats Pulpit Debates installments last week. A look at some of the comments posted are an example of this; whereas Jackson’s playmaking ability is seen as an asset capable of quickly elevating New England into the top tier of NFL teams again, his cost and injury history are used as arguments against the move.

Pats Fan stopping by:
At this point in his career Lamar Jackson is exactly who I said he would be, a flash in the pan. He is now a team destroyer with his poor play and injury history. Running QB’s have a short shelf life and then they are gone. Lamar has regressed over the last 2 seasons. What is it one would expect would take place to reverse the trend? He’s 1-3 in playoff games and did not play well on average. He’s a HUGE RISK for any franchise as you don’t know if he will be healthy come the end of the season. He missed 10 games over the last 2 seasons and at a time when the Ravens needed him. And factor in his salary demands as well as what the Ravens believe he’s worth in trade value and you have the perfect recipe for effing up your franchise for years. The new management of the Broncos knows this all to well with the blunder of the Wilson trade and the stupid new contract the old Bronco management gave him. Should anyone make a similar trade/contract for Jackson it will be the version of the bad Wilson deal all over again.

tpr04:
it’s the right direction in terms of last year as a starting point. But, in the NFL, it all comes down to the QB. So the ultimate question is whether staying with Mac is the right assessment or not. I understand the logic of it, but the next 5+ years hinge on that assessment. When we look back, will it be that we surrounded Mac with what he needed to become a top 10 QB or did this offseason (coach changes, UFAs, draft picks) not move the dial much because MAC is a bottom 3rd QB ( basically, the latest version of Mark Sanchez)?

rdf63:
No. Look at the contract he wants and the financial stranglehold it would create.

HannahHasNoEqual:
This would be a terrible and overly expensive move. Definitely NO.

Tony Wisconsin:
I think people are selling Lamar Jackson the player and Lamar Jackson the experience both a bit short. The Patriots would go from a bubble to a sure playoff team with him on the roster, and he would bring excitement on the offensive side of the ball that hasn’t existed since the Josh Gordon experiment. He’s a special player who is well liked and well respected around the league, and his strengths fit with the best skill players already on the roster.

At the same time, I think there’s no question that his reported contract demands are unreasonable. I’m sure as a competitor he views himself in the Mahomes tier (and he does have an MVP trophy and the regular season wins), but what the Ravens have reportedly offered both something close to the Josh Allen contract and then a shorter, fully guaranteed contract, and he rejected both.

To get Jackson onto the Patriots would mean trading a pair of first round picks and paying him more than DeShaun Watson. That would be a risky move even if the Patriots were one Lamar Jackson away from a Super Bowl, and they are definitely not.

I think Bill should do his due diligence; if he could get Jackson for a 1st, a 3rd, and Mac Jones, and get Lamar signed to a reasonable extension, sure, that’d be a great move. But the smarter move is probably to wait, see how Mac Jones does, and enter the Jackson sweepstakes next offseason, when you won’t have to pay any draft picks to sign him.

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