Is Lamar Jackson being held back by the Baltimore Ravens?
Hall of Famer Steve Young is high on Lamar Jackson, whose self-imposed Week 1 deadline to sign a contract extension is nearing.
He even went as far as to say that the star QB shouldn’t rush to close a deal with Baltimore Ravens — a team that Young believes has been holding Jackson back "year after year."
"I can’t wait for someone to train Lamar Jackson in a sophisticated passing game," Young said. "I think he’d be the greatest player in the history of the game. But he keeps getting held back by the Ravens year after year because they keep doubling down on this [rushing] thing Lamar Jackson is great at. No question, he’s the best at that. But that’s not the championship football they need to play. That’s not what Lamar Jackson wants to be."
"Lamar Jackson is a complete player that is [not being trained] in being a sophisticated passer," Young added.
On Friday's "Speak For Yourself," Emmanuel Acho explained why the notion that Baltimore is holding Jackson back simply isn't true, pointing out all the things the organization has done to develop the former NFL MVP.
"[The Ravens] helped Lamar Jackson become a unanimous MVP, the first of its kind, … be the highest-winning quarterback by percentage in the history of quarterbacks … [and] become a superstar," Acho said. "The team that did all this for Lamar Jackson, you're gonna tell me that they're holding him back?
"You're gonna tell me that the team that drafted first-round pick at tight end (Hayden Hurst), Mackey Award winner tight end (Mark Andrews), Biletnikoff [Award] winner receiver (Tylan Wallace), first-round pick receiver (Marquise Brown), first-round pick at receiver (Rashod Bateman), did not invest in Lamar Jackson?"
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Emmanuel Acho, James Jones, Ric Bucher and David Helman react to Young’s comments.
Jackson has averaged 2,922 passing yards, 26 passing touchdowns 9.3 interceptions and a 100.1 quarterback rating — completing 65% of his passes — across the past three seasons. He has also averaged 992.7 rushing yards and 5.3 rushing touchdowns per season over that same time.
On "The Herd," Colin Cowherd also struck down the argument that the Ravens aren't supporting Jackson.
"Go look at the draft picks," Cowherd said. "It's pretty remarkable what Baltimore has done since Lamar Jackson entered the league. … If you have really talented people, I don't think you try to alter what they are. I think you try to refine and support what they are. … Lean in to what [Jackson] is. Don't try to make him what he's not. I don't know the level of sophistication of the offense, but there's an argument [that] no team in the league has drafted more players to help a player than the Ravens have drafted to help Lamar."
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Colin Cowherd believes that Baltimore Ravens should continue to utilize Jackson the way they have been doing since his rookie year.
The Ravens are gearing up for a bounce-back season after finishing the 2021-22 campaign with an 8-9 record, good for last place in the AFC North. Jackson suffered an ankle injury in December, and Baltimore went 0-4 in the games Jackson didn't start and lost its last six games of the season.