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The New England Patriots, as did every other team in the NFL, had the opportunity to sign Lamar Jackson when the Baltimore Ravens star was a free agent this past offseason. As the Patriots didn't really pursue the MVP favorite, Bill Belichick was unexpectedly candid about why the team didn't make a push to sign him, at least for his standards.
Following Jackson's latest masterclass performance in Week 17, Belichick was asked if the Patriots seriously pursued him this past offseason during his appearance on WEEI's “The Greg Hill Show” on Tuesday.
“There's a lot of things that go on in the offseason,” Belichick said. “Each player has his own story. But, look, in Lamar's case — there was a lot of, I would say, there would have been a lot of moving parts on that one anyway. But you know, I’ll discuss the players that are on the team, not the ones that aren't on it. I mean, there’s a lot of players out there that were available. They're always available during the offseason. We talked to some of the players, some of the agents and all that. But those are all … those conversations are on a whole other level. So, stick to the guys that are here.”
Why the Patriots' pursuit of Lamar Jackson would've been difficult
In March, Patriots owner Robert Kraft told reporters that rapper Meek Mill relayed to him that Jackson said he wanted to play for the Patriots. Despite Jackson's alleged interest though, signing the quarterback wouldn't have been as easy as putting pen to paper.
Jackson received a non-exclusive franchise tag from the Ravens, which allowed him to negotiate a deal with other teams. However, the Ravens had the right to match whatever contract Jackson signed with another team. If they didn't match, the team that signed him would've had to forfeit two first-round picks.
"I wasn't expecting you to be smiling!" @Lj_era8 on his pre-draft meeting with Bill Belichick 😂 pic.twitter.com/S3TQyZOxKi
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 21, 2022
Of course, that draft capital seems light to acquire a franchise quarterback, especially one that won MVP a few years prior. But they also would've had to doll out a rich contract, too. Jackson received a five-year, $260 million contract with $185 million guaranteed, which was the richest contract in NFL history at the time.
The Patriots had cap space entering the offseason, but most projections had them at around $30 million or so. So, signing Jackson would've likely required them to restructure or move many players.
Now, it's easy to say that they should've done that considering how bad they've been this season. But they also would've needed to replace some decent NFL players with players on near-minimum deals, so it might not have been worth it for the Patriots.
