With nothing to gain and everything to lose, Lamar Jackson should sit out TaxSlayer Bowl
Lamar Jackson has been the best college football quarterback the last two years, but it’s time for him to pull the plug on his career and sit out the TaxSlayer Bowl.
For the last three years, Lamar Jackson has been a human highlight film with a combination of electrifying runs and long touchdown passes. He took home the 2017 Heisman Trophy and was a finalist again in 2017, but now it’s time to say goodbye to one of the best quarterbacks to ever suit up.
Jackson has another year of eligiblity remaining, but he’s not going to return, as it’s widely expected he’ll declare for the NFL Draft after Louisville plays Mississippi State in the TaxSlayer Bowl. And it’s a game that should go on without Jackson.
Sitting out bowl games has developed into a new trend with top-10 picks Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey starting the movement last year. It’s grown this year with more players electing to sit out the bowl game like UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen, Texas offensive tackle Connor Williams and Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward.
Jackson should sit out because he has nothing to gain by playing in a TaxSlayer Bowl other than padding his already otherworldly stats. Sure, the competitor in him should play because of his love for the game, the commitment he made to his coaches and teammates and because the fans deserve it. But it’s a huge risk for Jackson to play because he stands to love the most by playing.
The risk of inury is legit. What if Jackson breaks loose on a run and a defender hits him at the wrong angle and he blows out his knee? Then Jackson can’t participate in the NFL Combine and his Pro Day to throw in front of scouts and answer any doubts they may have about his skills translating to the next level. That would send his stock dropping faster than the temperature in January and he’d lose millions.
All because he had to appease fans and play in a meaningless exhibition game.
After three years of putting his body and his livelihood on the line, for free, it’s time for Jackson to make a business decision and pull himself out of the game. He can still be there cheering his team on from the sideline, but there’s no way he should be playing in this game considering all he has to lose.
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Jackson wouldn’t be knocked for not having the competitive fire, because that didn’t hurt Fournette or McCaffrey who went fourth and eighth, respectively, in last year’s draft. And I think NFL scouts and teams have seen plenty of Jackson over the last three years to know what type of prospect he is. Again, he has everything to lose and nothing to gain.
The fans will be upset for an hour or two, but I believe his coaches and teammates would fully understand if Jackson came to them in the locker room and said he couldn’t go.
For the record, Jackson is expected to play for the Cardinals, and I hope he runs for 200 yards and throws for 300 more, because I’m a fan and I want to see greatness. But that’s just my selfishness wanting to see it, because I’m the one that would benefit from that, not Jackson, and that’s why he simply shouldn’t be playing in a meaningless bowl game.