On Saturday night in Green Bay, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson wore a cheese grater. On Thursday, the two-time NFL MVP tried to shred a narrative that emerged last week in the Baltimore Sun.
In a column that ultimately suggested the Ravens should consider trading Jackson, Mike Preston of the Sun dropped several nuggets that speak to a frayed relationship between player and team, regarding issues like conditioning, diet, late-night video-game sessions, and meeting-room siestas.
Jackson took issue with one specific aspect of Preston’s reporting on Thursday.
“Do you think [coach John] Harbaugh would let me fall asleep in meetings?” Jackson said, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. “That’s crazy. I’m right in the front. It’s just noise.”
Jackson also dismissed the notion that there are issues between quarterback and coach. “I don’t know where the noise came from,” Jackson said.
Generally, it came from the primary newspaper in the city the Ravens call home. Specifically, the question is whether Preston got his information from someone within the organization. Possibly to prepare the fan base for a potential offseason move. Possibly to send a message to Jackson, who has no agent to serve as the buffer between employer and employee.
Whoever the source(s) and whatever the reason(s), Jackson is back from his back contusion, which Harbaugh initially called a “bruise.” If Jackson delivers in a win-or-go-home game against the Steelers to cap the regular season, the noise will largely die down. If they lose, who knows what will happen next?
Ultimately, there’s a good chance the status quo won’t change. A trade for Jackson would require a new team to make the Ravens an offer they’ll accept, and to negotiate with Jackson a contract that will extend beyond 2027.
For his part, Jackson declared on Thursday that he doesn’t want to leave. Via Hensley, Jackson said four different times that he “absolutely” wants to stay.
Whether that absolutely ends the noise will depend largely on whether the Ravens and Jackson can beat the Steelers on Sunday night.
