Chiefs MVP Patrick Mahomes: Proof That Ravens Are Wrong About Lamar Jackson & Roster?

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the MVP and he's in the Super Bowl. And yes, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens should be taking notes.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been crowned NFL Most Valuable Player. And he makes a lot of money. And he's in the Super Bowl, leading a talented roster.

So what's the Baltimore Ravens' excuse again?

“Honestly, when you have a big-ticket item at quarterback (Lamar Jackson), it makes it more challenging – not impossible,'' said Ravens GM Eric deCosta on the challenges of both signing Lamar Jackson and surrounding him with talent.

For the sake of Ravens fans, here's hoping deCosta's comments are about making an explanation ...

And now about making an excuse.

As teams assemble the puzzle pieces involved in roster-building and the salary cap and a quarterback’s often massive contract, they all face challenges. There are ways to "beat the cap,'' and one of those is having a star QB playing under his original rookie contract.

For Baltimore, that meant a four-year contract for Lamar worth $9,471,652.

Those days are gone.

And unless deCosta and the Ravens decide that Lamar and a price tag that's probably more like $50 million APY should also be gone? Baltimore needs answers, not excuses.

The GM acknowledged this, saying, “There are a lot of different ways to go about constructing the team and finding players and affording players and various things like that. But we’ve got to be really creative.”

The discussion here is specifically about adding receivers to the roster. How can it be done, cap-wise? Again, consider the Chiefs.

Mahomes' cap number is almost $50 million. He also has a $14 million tight end in Travis Kelce, and last spring, they traded away Tyreek Hill and then ...

-Signed JuJu Smith-Schuster to a one-year, $3.25 million contract.

-Signed Marquez Valdes-Scantling to a three-year, $30 million contract.

-Traded for Kadarius Toney, who is on a cheap (rookie) four-year, $14 million contract.

Creative.

"The one area that needs to be built is the wide receiver room, so that will be a new room, basically,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "There will be pieces of it still there – you know the guys – and then we’ll be adding a lot of pieces to that room.”

Can you have a high-priced MVP QB ... and a Super Bowl roster, too?

Mahomes ran away with this year's honor, earning 48 of 50 first-place votes; the other two went to Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

This season, Mahomes set an NFL record of 5,614 total yards in a season plus 41 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. He and the Chiefs led the league in terms of points scored per game (29.2), total yards (413.6) and passing yards (297.8).

Mahomes, who also won MVP in 2018, is the 10th ever multi-time NFL MVP winner. The quarterback did not attend the ceremony to accept the award, as he and the 1.5-point underdog Chiefs prepare for Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. 

He made his receivers better, no doubt. But all together, his receivers are a contributing reason KC is in the Super Bowl. And yes, the Baltimore Ravens should be taking notes.

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