The Wide World of Dirt

Before I dive into this, I will first address the Baltimore Ravens fanbase.

I need y’all to know this has nothing to do with y’all and your love of Lamar. As a matter of fact, I want Lamar to stay in Baltimore, but I also want them to pay him.

With that in mind, Lamar Jackson is an immensely intelligent individual and perhaps also a student of NFL history and lore.

I say this as the typical mindset of the NFL player is to play no matter what if you and your team make the playoffs. This has been counterproductive in the past.

The most notorious example of this mindset can be found in 2013.

After already locking up NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year with a stellar regular season, reigning Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III was at a crossroads.

On the one hand, the competitor in him wanted to prove himself in January with the NFL postseason being the proving ground for franchise quarterbacks.

With a dynamic, dual-threat playstyle, RG3 was a bit of a unicorn in his time, exhibiting exceptional accuracy and arm strength while also being a world-class talent with his feet.

Griffin put up 27 total TDs and over 4000 yards of total offense, numbers only put up by the elite field generals in the NFL.

Despite his incredible performances and numbers, many were skeptical of Griffin’s long-term viability, especially considering his bruising playstyle didn’t exactly include a key trait honed by successful running QBs before him: the slide.

RG3 preferred slamming into defenders in an effort to get every last inch on every play, and while that mindset is certainly admirable, it brings much danger with it.

That danger had already reared its ugly head toward Griffin, suffering a grade 1 LCL sprain in week 14 that hindered him for the rest of the regular season.

His mobility suffered with the bum wheel, but Griffin managed to lead Washington to a playoff berth against the Seahawks in Washington after claiming the NFC East.

Interestingly enough, it came out on the day of the playoff game that Griffin and the Washington coaching staff ignored Dr. James Andrews’ orders.

When Andrews diagnosed Griffin with the LCL sprain, he did not clear the QB to return for the remainder of the regular season, even though he still played.

The turmoil bubbling up and the criticism being flung at him, I’m sure all of this just fed into RG3’s inner competitive spirit, leading to his decision to play.

It would be a costly mistake.

On a nasty Sunday evening in Virginia, Robert Griffin took a shotgun snap on 2nd & 22 from his own 12-yard line, a snap that never quite made it to him.

The ball went low past his left leg, and when RG3 went to reach for it, his injured knee gave out. While Griffin writhed in pain on the ground, the Seahawks recovered the ball and ended the game the victor.

Griffin was carted off the field and to a local hospital where it was confirmed that he completely tore his LCL and his ACL as well.

All of this on the first year of his rookie contract. Brutal.

As if allowing him to play when he shouldn’t have leading to his ACL tear wasn’t bad enough, Washington and specifically Mike Shanahan pressured Griffin into returning earlier than initially projected by a number of medical professionals.

RG3’s performance took a noticeable dip in his second year, struggling to readjust and rehab his knee all at once.

He returned from his January ACL/LCL tear for week 1 in early November, and while this has been done before with other players, it was clearly much too early for Griffin.

After three more seasons of mounting injuries and declining performance, Washington cast Griffin aside like a broken toy they didn’t wanna play with anymore.

I’m not trying to imply that the Ravens are similar to the cold, heartless thieves that live in our nation’s capital, but clearly, they were hesitant to pay their franchise quarterback what he’s worth for a reason.

Lamar and the Ravens both know that he has an injury history, and Lamar bowed out of the last few games of last season with an ankle injury.

Now, he’s bowed out of this season with a PCL sprain grade 2, one that apparently continues to leave his knee swollen and unstable.

The Ravens have not been able to maintain their level of excellence in their superstar QB’s absence, going 2-3 in their final five games and limping into the playoffs with a 10-7 record.

None of Lamar’s backups have shown any flashes of being better than a backup-level player, and the Ravens have crafted their entire offense around Lamar’s skillset, meaning that him leaving the organization would mean retooling the entire team.

Lamar Jackson knows his worth to Baltimore and the league at-large.

Outside of being the 2019 unanimous MVP, he’s led the league in passing TDs. He’s the most prolific running QB of all-time by the numbers. He’s won the most games by a QB under the age of 25. He’s the only person to throw for 400 yards and complete more than 85% of his passes.

Do you get the picture? He’s really, really good at football.

That doesn’t even include the mountain of Ravens’ franchise records he owns, and it would be an utter embarrassment if they let the second-most decorated player in their team’s history to just walk away for nothing in free agency.

All because he couldn’t play on a bum knee.

Lamar Jackson knows his worth, and he’s making a point to prioritize his health over playing football. If he were to play and injure his knee, the free agent market would all but evaporate before him. We all know that.

People are going to be mad about this, and I’m here to tell you every last one of them is a huge cornball.

But, if it was you, you’d be doing the exact same thing.