Trade Lamar Jackson? Ravens GM says he covets QBs, great players

At the NFL combine Wednesday, Eric DeCosta was asked whether he has to consider trading quarterback Lamar Jackson at some point and responded that few teams have made more trades since he became the Baltimore Ravens' general manager four years ago.

«That being said, I covet great players. I covet quarterbacks. And I love Lamar,» DeCosta told Baltimore-area reporters in Indianapolis. «So, that has not factored in one time with me. We want to do what's best for the club. We try to do what we can for Lamar. We want to make everybody happy.»

DeCosta expressed hope that a deal can be reached with Jackson before next week's franchise tag deadline despite no agreement so far after two years of negotiations. DeCosta said he met with Jackson recently, adding «both understand the urgency of the situation.»

If the sides can't reach a new contract by Tuesday, Baltimore would have to put the franchise tag on Jackson to keep him from becoming an unrestricted free agent. The tag would take up all of the Ravens' available salary cap space and severely limit what the team can do in free agency, which includes adding a much-needed wide receiver and a starting cornerback.

«You can't win in this league without a strong quarterback. I mean, that's been proven,» DeCosta said. «So, we want Lamar here. We think he's one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He's certainly one of our best players, and we want him back. We understand that living in a world without a quarterback is a bad world to live in.»

According to sources, Jackson wants a fully guaranteed deal like the one given to Deshaun Watson last year and the Ravens have been reluctant to offer that because they believe Watson's deal is more of an outlier than a precedent. DeCosta