Rumors swirled in recent days that quarterback Lamar Jackson was ready to move on from the Baltimore Ravens. Those rumors became a reality on Monday morning when Lamar Jackson took to Twitter to announce that he has requested a trade from the team.
In his opinion, the Ravens are not interested in meeting his value, so he would like to be traded elsewhere. Somewhat shockingly, pinpointing which team that may be is difficult as more franchises have said they don’t plan to pursue him than ones that have.
Teams such as the Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts could turn their franchises around very quickly by inserting Lamar Jackson into their starting quarterback role. The Washington Commanders and New York Jets could be seen as legitimate Super Bowl contenders with Lamar Jackson under center as he would be a huge upgrade over what each franchise currently has at the position.
However, one team to keep an eye on is the New England Patriots. According to Patriots owner Robert Kraft, rapper Meek Mill texted him a few days ago informing him that Lamar Jackson wants to be a Patriot. However, per Kraft, that decision would ultimately be up to head coach Bill Belichick to make.
If the Patriots were to acquire Lamar Jackson, they would become instant Super Bowl contenders themselves. He is a massive upgrade over Mac Jones, who regressed in Year 2 after a solid rookie campaign.
The explosiveness he would bring to New England’s offense would help them keep par with the other teams in the AFC East. The Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins have elite young quarterbacks in Josh Allen and Tua Tagovailoa leading their offenses. The Jets are working toward adding future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers to theirs.
Is Belichick comfortable going to battle with Jones as his quarterback against them? Not to mention, to get out of the AFC you also have to beat the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert. Lamar Jackson gives the Patriots a much better chance of taking down those teams than Jones does.
While New England doesn’t have the strongest group of wide receivers, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kendrick Bourne and DeVante Parker represent a huge upgrade from what Baltimore has surrounded Lamar Jackson with. With an emerging running back in Rhamondre Stevenson manning the backfield and a stellar defense, the Patriots would be ready to contend once again with Lamar Jackson as their starting quarterback.
