NFL rumors: Former Patriot urges New England to get Lamar Jackson

One former Patriots player wants to see Lamar Jackson in the nautical blue next season and says Jackson could make New England serious Super Bowl contenders.

With Aaron Rodgers set to join the New York Jets this offseason, Baltimore Ravens‘ Lamar Jackson is the last towering quarterback domino to fall. Jackson has long divided audiences for his dual-threat abilities and unconventional playing style, and when Rodgers comes to the AFC, Jackson will arguably be knocked out of the top-five group of quarterbacks in the conference.

As a young player entering his prime with budding franchise potential, Jackson can still elevate any team lacking a reliable starter under center, and that includes the New England Patriots.

Former Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich recently went on ESPN’s “Get Up” and explained why he thinks the Pats franchise should go all-in on Jackson this offseason:

Ninkovich’s most controversial line that sticks out is the Patriots joining the “Super Bowl hunt” if they were to nab Jackson in 2023.

Lamar Jackson to the New England Patriots would turn the AFC East into a war zone

Jackson alone *probably* can’t carry an offensively handicapped Patriots team that has JuJu Smith-Schuster as the No. 1 wideout. He will face Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs in Buffalo, Tua and Tyreek Hill/ Jaylen Waddle in Miami, and Aaron Rodgers and all his friends in New York.

That’s Hunger Games-level competition right there and would make the AFC East the most difficult gauntlet in the NFL. Forget about the Super Bowl — try making it out of the division, first.

While getting Jackson may not immediately push New England into win-now mode, he poses as a much more optimistic option than Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe and could at least help the Patriots string together winning seasons.

Earlier this offseason, the Ravens placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson, allowing him to negotiate with other teams and potentially sign an offer sheet.

Whether due to collusion or sheer ignorance, many NFL teams are already publicly out on Jackson; any team wanting to dance with him will have to offer more than the three-year, $133 million guaranteed contract Baltimore already offered him and fork over two first-rounders.

The Pats haven’t been linked to Jackson at all in 2023 as Bill Belichick appears content with his quarterback room, but things in the NFL can change at the drop of a dime.

Baltimore already seem to be preparing for a potential Lamar Jackson exit — maybe Jackson wants to explore a new challenge in the AFC East? If the money’s there, the rest is no object.