Jackson might be playing dangerous game
McVay decides to stay with Rams Breaking down coaching searches
One thing is clear about Sunday night’s BengalsRavens game: Lamar Jackson won’t be suiting up. What’s less clear is what is driving Jackson’s absence — his knee injury or his contract situation.
Jackson’s surprise no-show is the biggest story of wild-card weekend. The Ravens’ season will come down to Tyler Huntley with an injured shoulder or undrafted rookie Anthony Brown.
It’s not just that Jackson won’t play. It’s that his absence may be tied to a contract dispute, and that Jackson is intentionally taking his time coming back and opting not to risk his health, even for a playoff game.
When Jackson suffered a PCL sprain Dec. 4, Ravens coach John Harbaugh
indicated it wouldn’t be a lengthy injury. The Ravens never put Jackson on injured reserve, which would have kept him out for four games.
“Not a season-ending type of knee,” Harbaugh said in his postgame news conference. “You know, days to weeks, we’ll see. We’ll see if he can go back this week. If not, he’ll be sometime after that shortly.”
Yet season-ending is what the injury is turning into, as Jackson still hasn’t practiced after six weeks.
Perhaps feeling the heat, Jackson shared details of his injury on social media Thursday, saying he has “suffered a PCL Grade 2 sprain, on the borderline of a strain 3.”
“There is still inflammation surrounding my knee and my knee remains unstable,” Jackson wrote. “I wish I could be out there with my guys more than anything, but I can’t give a 100% of myself to my guys and fans. I’m still hopeful we have a chance.”
The backdrop is that Jackson has a lot of money at stake. He will be a free agent at the end of the season and is likely doing whatever he can to avoid the franchise tag, which would pay him handsomely next season ($45 million) but isn’t the long-term, guaranteed contract worth hundreds of millions that he is seeking.
Jackson is representing himself, with help from his mother and reps from the NFL Players Association. Jackson, the 2019 NFL MVP, reportedly wants a fully guaranteed deal worth approximately $250 million, similar to the $230 million fully guaranteed deal signed by Deshaun Watson with the Browns.
No one expects Jackson would be at 100 percent for Sunday’s game, and certainly mobility is more important for Jackson than other quarterbacks. And it’s hard to begrudge a player for trying to get the best possible contract in a league where your career can be done in an instant. But this time of year, a majority of players tough it out through injuries and play at less than 100 percent. Philip Rivers once played a playoff game on a torn ACL. Jackson hasn’t even tested his knee at practice.
“In this league, everybody is pretty much banged up, hurt,” Ravens receiver Sammy Watkins told the Washington Post this past week. “He’s got an opportunity to win a Super Bowl . . . I don’t want to speak for him and his situation and whatever he’s going through with the contracts. I don’t know what world he’s in. But for me, you’ve got a chance to do something special. We all know with Lamar Jackson out there, this team is really freaking good, and special things can happen. He can will this team to a Super Bowl. I don’t think he’s thinking about it that way.”
If Jackson’s absence is related to his contract status, he is playing a dangerous game and risking the respect of his locker room. Whether the public believes it, all that matters is whether his teammates believe he is ducking out on them at the most important time of the season, and potentially costing them additional earning potential with a quick loss in the playoffs.
It also could force the Ravens and other teams to wonder how committed Jackson would be to playing through pain if given a long-term contract. Perhaps that is Jackson’s plan all along, to poison his relationship to the point where the Ravens don’t even give him the franchise tag and make him a free agent.
Watkins, who played with the Ravens last season and rejoined them a month ago, made it clear that players are wondering if Jackson is letting his contract get in the way of their Super Bowl chances.
“I think the world is ready to see Lamar back on the field, doing what he do best, and get all the stipulations and contract stuff behind him,” Watkins said Wednesday. “I pray somebody talks to him like, ‘Man, just sign the deal.’
You know what I mean? And he get out there and hopefully, if . . . he’s healthy, he can just come play this Sunday. We all know that’s up to Lamar and whatever goes on. Hopefully, they get something done.
“The world wants to watch Lamar Jackson. That’s a phenom talent, a talent that you rarely come by. Things that he do on the field and things that you see, to be quite honest when he’s out there, he makes everybody play better, just to have him in that huddle. I pray that somebody reach out to him or that he’s really truly getting healthy and can play, that he wakes up Thursday and be like, ‘All right, forget it. I’m playing.’ I think that would change the whole trajectory of our season.”
Instead, Jackson is out, and the Ravens will probably be toast Sunday night. The Ravens then have between Feb. 21 and March 7 to give Jackson the franchise tag.
Harbaugh and the Ravens have remained mostly mum, but Jackson’s relationship with the team will be fascinating to watch unfold this offseason.
The NFL coaching carousel is spinning, and the Rams are grateful that they won’t be riding it.
The Rams announced Friday evening that coach Sean McVay, who has 60 wins, four playoff appearances, three division titles, two conference championships, and a Lombardi Trophy in six seasons, will return to coach the team in 2023.
It appeared to be an abrupt change of heart for McVay, who poured his soul out in his season-ending news conference last Monday and said he was struggling with burnout and the grind of coaching.
“I don’t know that it’s not that I’m [not] OK,” said McVay, 36. “I think it’s more about just, how can you be at your best? This has been years. This isn’t a new thing.
“I’ve seen Tom Brady had a quote before about [how] he hopes that his kids can find something that they’re as passionate about as he is about football, but he wouldn’t wish that torment on anybody else. I can really relate to that.”
The Rams need McVay, because the roster might need a major overhaul soon. Matthew Stafford’s health is an issue, and even though he says he is going to return next season, Stafford isn’t long for the NFL. The bill is also going to come due soon on the roster after the Rams spent years burning draft picks and throwing big money at veteran players. It resulted in a Super Bowl win last year, but the Rams fell apart this season at 5-12, and major changes are on the horizon.
McVay had a lucrative television offer that likely gave him pause about continuing the grind of coaching. But TV will always be there for him.
Hall of Fame coach Dick Vermeil, the posterchild for retiring early — in 1983 from the Eagles, and in 2000 after winning the Super Bowl with the Rams — said before McVay made his decision that he hoped he took the proper amount of time.
“If he were sitting in my living room, I’d say, ‘Sean, ask to take a couple-week break, talk to some professional people about where you are emotionally and frame of mind, talk to ownership, and then make your decision,’ ” Vermeil said by phone this past week. “Don’t make it hastily.
“When I told [Rams owner] Georgia [Frontiere] I was going to retire two days after winning the Super Bowl, she said, ‘Take two weeks,’ and I didn’t do it. If I had done it, I might not have retired.”
A few notes on each of the five head coaching vacancies as teams create their lists:
▪ Broncos: As of Friday, they had spoken with or requested three offensive-minded coaches (Jim Harbaugh, Sean Payton ,and David Shaw) and four from the defensive side (DeMeco Ryans, Raheem Morris, Dan Quinn, Ejiro Evero). Shaw and Harbaugh have a connection to the team through minority owner Condoleezza Rice, via Stanford. It appears that the team’s new owners want an experienced coach after seeing Nathaniel Hackett stumble through his one season. One league source said the presence of Russell Wilson is making it tough for the Broncos to attract the top coaching candidates. Harbaugh looks like a good fit, but the University of Michigan is making another bid to retain him. The list is likely evolving, but Quinn or Morris, both former head coaches, look intriguing.
▪ Cardinals: Are moving ahead first with their general manager search to replace Steve Keim, but so far have reached out to Payton, Vance Joseph, and Brian Flores about their head coaching vacancy. The Cardinals helped put Flores on the map in 2018 by giving him a surprise interview for head coach and spreading word that he was impressive. Kyler Murray’s presence may also be hurting the Cardinals’ ability to attract the top candidates, but Flores, with his pedigree and demanding style, just might be what the Cardinals and Murray need.
▪ Colts: Have reached out to eight coaches — three offensive coordinators (Ben Johnson, Shane Steichen, and Eric Bieniemy), three defensive coordinators (Aaron Glenn, Morris, and Evero) and two internal candidates (Jeff Saturday and special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone). Even though the Colts are branching out, it feels as if owner Jim Irsay just wants to hire Saturday full time. Let’s see if GM Chris Ballard can steer Irsay toward a more experienced candidate.
▪ Panthers: Are casting the widest net, having reached out to 11 candidates as of Friday, including Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo. Steve Wilks is one of the 11 and did a commendable job as interim coach (6-6 record), but seven of the 10 outside candidates are offensive coordinators, and it feels as if Panthers owner Dave Tepper wants to go in that direction. Payton hasn’t been contacted, but he should be one to watch.
▪ Texans: After essentially punting on head coach the last two years and settling for David Culley and Lovie Smith ,GM Nick Caserio must get the right person. The job is attractive, with two high-first-round picks and a lot of cap space. Among the Texans’ requests are five offensive coaches and three defensive coaches. Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon was a finalist last year and should be again. If Payton ends up in Houston, it could signal that Caserio’s time is almost up.
Kicked into high gear
Scoring and quarterback play were down in 2022 compared with the last few years, but this season should go down as the best kicking season in NFL history.
This season saw records for field goals (903) and field goal attempts (1,062). The 85 percent success rate was the third highest ever. The 94.6 percent success rate on extra points was the highest since the NFL moved the kick back in 2015.
Kickers also obliterated previous records for 50-plus-yard field goals made and attempted, connecting on 154 of 224 (previous records 120 and 182). Kickers connected on 68.8 percent of field goals from 50-plus yards, second best in NFL history from long distance.
Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson led the way, hitting an NFL-record 11 field goals of 50-plus yards (on 13 attempts).
Aaron Rodgers is doing his annual dance of considering retirement vs. returning for another season, and said this past week he’s “not going to hold [the Packers] hostage” as to his plans for 2023. But unlike in previous years, when Rodgers didn’t have a massive contract and full job security, it would be an enormous surprise if Rodgers isn’t back with the Packers in 2023. The contract he signed last March pays him $59 million next season, fully guaranteed. Rodgers has made upward of
$300 million over his 18-year career, but $59 million is a lot of cheddar for anyone to walk away from. The Packers may be ready to turn the team over to Jordan Love but will probably be stuck with Rodgers unless he retires. Good luck finding another team to take on that contract for a 39-year-old quarterback . . . San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said this past week that Jimmy Garoppolo can put some weight on his broken left foot and might be available to dress for a playoff game in a few weeks. Brock Purdy was the NFL’s highest-rated quarterback in December and January (112.0), but it’s always good to have reinforcements, as the Patriots learned with Tom Brady and Drew Bledsoe in the 2001 AFC Championship game against the Steelers . . . The Players’ All-Pro team released by the NFL Players Association this past week demonstrated again that media members, for all of our supposed faults and biases, are still best-suited to vote on awards and Halls of Fame. The players voted more on reputation than production. Aaron Donald made the team despite having just five sacks and playing in only 11 games. Cordarrelle Patterson made it despite returning just nine kickoffs all season . . . This season was my first as an Associated Press award voter, and I was surprised to see on Friday that I was the only person who voted for the Chargers’ J.K. Scott as firstteam All Pro punter. The Chiefs’ Tommy Townsend won the honor with a league-high 45.6-yard net average, but I was much more impressed by the fact that Scott allowed just 58 punt return yards on 73 punts, by far the fewest of all regular punters (next was 137 return yards) . . . J.J. Watt is retiring, but he can still play. He led the Cardinals in sacks (12½) and pressures (50), and had five pressures and two sacks in his final game. Let’s see how Watt, who turns 34 in March, feels about retirement come August . . . Since the 1970 merger, nine players have returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in one game, 14 players have returned two punts for touchdowns in one game, and only one player has done both — Nyheim Hines,
who returned the punts in 2019 for the Colts and the kickoffs last Sunday in the Bills’ win over the Patriots . . . It’s fairly easy to quantify what Josh McDaniels
was worth to the Patriots — a touchdown per game. The Patriots scored 17 fewer offensive touchdowns in 2022 than in 2021 (48 to 31).