Pros and cons of Seattle Seahawks adding Lamar Jackson

The cons of bringing Lamar Jackson to the Seahawks

Jackson is currently an unrestricted free agent but because this is the NFL, that isn’t as simple as it sounds. The Ravens might choose to place the exclusive franchise tag on Jackson which would mean he isn’t able to negotiate with any other team and would be forced to stay in Baltimore. Of course, Jackson could decide not to sign the deal but that doesn’t mean he could simply sit out a year and then sign elsewhere. He’d be stuck with the Ravens.

The exclusive franchise tag for quarterbacks is expected to be a bit north of $45 million in 2023. That is a number few teams can afford and even if they can that number likely means not being able to sign other players at positions of need. Assuming the Ravens place the tag on Jackson, another team would have to trade for him and the new team would be responsible for paying Jackson all that money. The Seahawks don’t need to blow their cap space simply to get Jackson.

The other issue is that Jackson gets hurt a bunch. In the last two seasons, he has missed a combined 10 games. In 2022, Jackson was injured in Week 13 and didn’t play again after that. Baltimore went 2-4 without him and was 8-4 with Jackson. So if Jackson does get hurt, the team he plays for clearly suffers. A quarterback that misses so much time and is prone to injury because of his playing style might not be worth the risk that comes with adding him as well as his expected massive contract.

There’s also an added bit about Jackson’s play in the postseason. His teams have gone 1-3 with him as QB in the playoffs and he has thrown 3 touchdown passes in those games but 5 interceptions. In fact, in the three losses, the Ravens have averaged only about 11 points a game and in the one victory only scored 20. Jackson might be a better regular season quarterback than one when the games really matter. This is why the Seahawks shouldn’t try to bring Lamar Jackson to Seattle.