Did Lamar Jackson Almost Leave Ravens to Sign with Raiders or Panthers? ESPN Pushes Conspiracy Theory

Did Lamar Jackson Almost Leave Baltimore Ravens to Sign with Raiders or Panthers? ESPN Pushes Conspiracy Theory

Maybe the biggest and most controversial NFL headliner last offseason centered around what was a sometimes-bitter contract battle between the Baltimore Ravens and MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson ... a showdown that at one point saw him request a trade from the team.

While there was much speculation at the time about other teams possibly becoming involved in the bidding for his services, we wrote then that there was a simply explanation for why the gifted Jackson received no offers: Other teams recognized that they would simply be doing the Ravens' negotiating for for them by matching, so it wasn't worth the bother.

This - not any grand word-game conspiracy theory about "collusion'' - was a fact then. And it is a fact now.

Still, along comes ESPN's Adam Schefter seeming to be "breaking new ground'' by reporting that before Lamar re-upped here with his new five-year, $260 million contract extension, "two teams known to have inquired about Jackson's services were the Raiders and the Panthers.''

And we can say again: Dump the word games. Because "inquired'' means precious little here.

With whom, we wonder, is Schefter telling us these two teams registered their "inquiries''? There is no evidence that they spoke directly to anybody about anything substantial. And we know there was never an offer sheet submitted.

Writes Schefter: "Neither team got overly aggressive with Jackson.''

Boy, that part is certainly true. ... and it's all come together nicely for the Ravens, who currently hold the No. 1 spot in the AFC playoff picture at 12-3 with Jackson a leading candidate to win his second MVP trophy.

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And yet, today, for some reason, Schefter is pushing the agenda of collusion, writing, "Many sources agree that (the lack of an offer) can't be as simple as teams all believing that Baltimore would have matched any offer sheet that Jackson signed.''

But "many sources'' are wrong. It can be that simple. Because it is that simple.