Was Ravens Long-Term Lamar Deal "Biggest Gamble" of Offseason?

The Baltimore Ravens inked Lamar Jackson to a massive contract, but Sports Illustrated marks it as a massive gamble on the former MVP.

The Baltimore Ravens were the talk of the NFL just three months ago as Lamar Jackson's future with the team hung in the balance. Now, with a new five-year, $260 million deal signed, all is well again... maybe?

In Sports Illustrated's 32 teams in 32 days preview, the outlet said that signing Jackson to a long-term extension after he requested a trade was the biggest gamble of the offseason.

"It would have been disastrous for the Ravens to trade a franchise quarterback in the midst of his prime, but there’s still risk in signing Jackson, who has missed a combined 10 games in the past two seasons due to injury (including last season’s playoff loss to the Bengals)," SI.com wrote.

So... is that where the controversy is, in Jackson's health? As other outlets publish piece after piece about his arm struggles, Sports Illustrated is honing in on his ability to stay on the field, which is a real question.

If Jackson can stay healthy, though, he's got an assortment of new weapons like Odell Beckham Jr. and Zay Flowers to work with. 

"For the Ravens to repair their relationship with Jackson, they added Beckham, overpaying for the veteran wideout with a one-year, $15 million contract. Jackson remains one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but he hasn’t played at an MVP level since 2019," SI.com concluded.

With tools at running back and receiver and having recently inked the league's largest deal, it's now on Jackson to prove that this extension was not a gamble. 

If he makes full use of an upgraded offense under Todd Monken, this contract could go down as one of the NFL's all-time best.

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