The Lamar Jackson Question
Edition #309
Good morning!
Have we seen the last of Tomy Brady with Tampa bowing out of the playoffs, tripping at the first hurdle? I respect any player who has achieved what Brady has, but will I miss hearing his name every week, triggering a New England-induced PTSD episode? Absolutely not.
Should the Jets sign Lamar Jackson? Can they sign Lamar Jackson? And, what will it take to have Lamar Jackson in a New York Jets uniform come the start of the 2023 season? Those are the questions I’m going to try and answer in today’s newsletter.
👴 For the first time since 2009, neither Aaron Rodgers nor Tom Brady was responsible for a win in the playoffs. That’s pretty remarkable.
🤠 That Cowboys win in Tampa Bay was their first road playoff win in three decades.
🫡 Washington have requested permission to interview Dolphins pass-game coordinator Darrell Bevell for their open OC position. Bevell will also interview with the Jets.
⚜️ The Houston Texans completed an interview with Sean Payton on Monday. They certainly have the draft capital to get him if they want him.
⚡ Joe Lombardi was fired by the San Diego Chargers yesterday after their epic collapse against Jacksonville. They also fired Passing Game Coordinator/QB coach Shane Day. The Chargers had the 13th-best scoring offense in 2022 despite a number of injuries.
👀 According to multiple reports, Tampa Bay is expected to part company with Byron Leftwich. It’ll be interesting to see if the Jets set up an interview with the Super Bowl-winning coordinator. How much was Brady, and how much was Leftwich?
💯 ESPN's Seth Walder released his list of the top 100 most valuable players in the league. Four Jets made the cut in Garrett Wilson (99), D.J. Reed (58), Quinnen Williams (36) and Sauce Gardner (20).
🏆 The Cleveland Browns plan to hire Jim Schwartz as their defensive coordinator Schwartz who won a Super Bowl as the Eagle’s DC in 2017.
On Monday night I posted the latest betting odds for Lamar’s next team on Twitter. The Jets are currently the 2nd favorite at 5-1, behind the Patriots at 4-1, and just in front of the Falcons at 6-1.
The odds don’t include Baltimore who is still favored to keep hold of their franchise QB.
Like most Jets fans I like the idea of Lamar Jackson taking snaps for the Jets after watching Zach Wilson for two years. But, we’re not playing Madden here. A lot goes into that decision as a follower of mine pointed out:
That tweet made me stop and think about the possibility. So far I’ve largely ignored the Lamar Jackson hype as I just didn’t believe there was any chance the Ravens would deal him, especially not to another AFC team. I still feel as though if the offers were equal they’d send him to the NFC, with the Falcons being the firm favorite.
Jackson is an incredible talent. A former Heisman Trophy winner (2016), NFL MVP (2019), NFL Passing TD leader (2019), and two-time Pro Bowler (2019 & 2021).
Over his five-year career, he’s completed 63.7% of his passes for over 12,000 yards with 101 touchdowns to 38 interceptions. Not to mention over 4000 rushing yards, 271 rushing first downs, and 24 rushing touchdowns.
He is, for want of a better word, elite.
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