Ravens Lamar Jackson Trade 'Never Been More Likely' If ...

There's a key element to the trade talks surrounding Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson that could make a potential move more likely than ever.

The Baltimore Ravens are in a sticky situation with former MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson.

With the franchise tag window open, the Ravens are poised to make a key decision on how intent they are on keeping Jackson - it's not a matter of if they'll use the tag, it's which one, between the exclusive and non-exclusive.

Nonetheless, the tag is largely just a short-term fix while the long-term dilemma of keeping Jackson in Baltimore remains most important.

The problem, of course, is that Jackson reportedly wants a fully guaranteed contract similar to the five-year, $230 million deal received by Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson ... but the Ravens want nothing of that.

As a result of the two sides being so far apart, trade rumors have naturally begun to swirl - and ESPN believes that the odds of a move could reach a new high with a big "if."

"If there is no compromise, the possibility of the Ravens trading Jackson ... has never been more likely," ESPN writes.

Jackson, who's representing himself in contract talks, is coming off a season that began with earning AFC Player of the Month for September and ended prematurely by missing the final six games, including a playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Now three years removed from winning MVP and facing questions surrounding durability, it's easy to see why Jackson and the Ravens are so far off.

For the former, he's led Baltimore to a 40-17 record over the last four seasons, while the team is 4-9 without him. For the latter, 13 missed games in four years isn't ideal for a franchise quarterback.

And according to ESPN, the Ravens aren't particularly interested budging to the extent the Browns did - in part because of how the two franchises are run.

"Just because the Browns were desperate doesn't mean that the Ravens are," one high-ranking NFL executive told ESPN. "They are a stable franchise. They aren't about to jump at something just because Cleveland did it."

Thus, the contract talks will likely continue for the foreseeable future ... unless a trade comes first, and that seems to be an ever-growing possibility.

"A couple of months ago, I would have said no way (that a trade will happen)," a team source told ESPN in the days after the playoff loss. "Now it feels like anything is possible."

Added an AFC executive to ESPN: "It could become a standoff, because I wouldn't expect him to sign the tag for a while, and (the Ravens) will be so far apart in the guaranteed money."

And with that, uncertainty rises ... and presumably will continue until one side has a change of heart.

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You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter at @DFlickDraft

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