Three reasons the Seahawks don't need Lamar Jackson

The Seahawks would never pay Jackson what he wants

Now we come to the biggest reason I believe the Seahawks are better off without Jackson: money. It's hardly a secret that he asked the Ravens to trade him. It wasn't much of a surprise that he requested the trade, either. Baltimore could have negotiated a contract extension with him before last season but chose not to. The single biggest reason for that is the idiocy of the Cleveland Browns ownership.

No, I'm not talking about their belief that Johnny Football was an NFL quarterback, although that was pretty laughable. I'm referring to the ridiculous contract the Browns gave to QB Deshaun Watson. For now, I'll ignore the stench of his off-field issues and stick to the issue of his dollars. The problem isn't that the Browns gave him $230 million. The problem is they guaranteed every last penny of it. What's even more incredible is the contract includes language that Watson won't forfeit any money due to any future suspensions, per spotrac.com. Uh, sure, smart move, boys.

Here's where the issue relates to Jackson and the Seahawks. Jackson reportedly wants his contract guaranteed as well. Not just the first year, like Kirk Cousins (on a one-year contract) or Geno Smith, whose signing bonus and 2023 salary are guaranteed. No, Jackson reportedly wants the Watson treatment - not the alleged assaults which Watson vehemently denies, but for which he still accepted the suspension. Sorry, I was going to leave that bit out. Ah well.

Let me be very clear here; the issue with the guaranteed money isn't that Lamar Jackson is going to go off the deep end and do something stupid. No, the risk in his case is strictly on the field. It's ludicrous to guarantee the entirety of a multi-year contract in a sport that sees so many career-changing and career-ending injuries. The Seahawks avoided a huge payout to their QB when they traded Russell Wilson. Yes, Jackson is much younger, and definitely much better at this point in their respective careers. But the Hawks got one of the off-season's best bargains with their deal to keep Geno Smith in town. It certainly wouldn't make sense to move Smith to acquire Jackson now. But it never made sense for them to go after Jackson. He won't be a headache, but his contract will be. Seattle made the right decision, both on and off the field.