How Ravens' Lamar Jackson went from trade request to MVP - ESPN

BALTIMORE — It was the surest of bets at Thursday's NFL Honors show: Lamar Jackson was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player. For the past six weeks, the expectation was seeing Jackson walk upon the stage, and at age 27, become the league's youngest two-time MVP since the merger.

But what might be easy to forget is how much of a long shot this was once considered.

On March 2, the low point of Baltimore's contract negotiations with Jackson came when Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta received a message from his franchise quarterback that would derail his NFL combine in Indianapolis.

Jackson requested a trade.

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How Jackson went from a potential divorce from the Ravens to becoming the NFL's top player for them in 11 months was a bumpy road that involved a lesson learned from Ray Lewis, a turning point at a movie theater and an assist from a quarterback who plays two hours up the interstate.

«We just stayed the course and stayed positive,» DeCosta said last month. «I felt like at some point there'd be an opportunity for us to kind of reach a common ground, and fortunately, right before the draft, we did.

»I think there were several things along the way that all worked in our favor."

Jackson agreed to a five-year, $260 million deal with Baltimore hours before the start of the draft April 27. He then became the best player on the league's best team in the regular season, leading the Ravens to a 13-4 record. Jackson's difficulties, however, resurfaced in the postseason as the Ravens lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, dropping his