5 teams that already regret not acquiring Lamar Jackson when they had the chance
By Scott Rogust
The Baltimore Ravens are now one win away from reaching Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas. As the No. 1 seed, the Ravens earned a first-round bye, meaning they had an extra week of rest to prepare for their opponents in the Divisional Round -- the No. 4 Houston Texans. The Ravens beat the Texans 34-10 behind a stellar performance from quarterback Lamar Jackson, who threw for 152 yards and two touchdowns (16-of-22 attempts) and ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries.
This latest game by Jackson showed what we have known since late in the regular season, and that's that the Ravens quarterback has strong odds to win the NFL MVP. But let's not forget that less than a year ago, Jackson had requested a trade from the Ravens.
Seeking a new contract and turning down a reported three-year, $133 million contract from the Ravens, Jackson sought to play elsewhere on a team that would give him a new contract. When a player the caliber of Jackson became available, you would expect teams to line up to try and convince the Ravens to trade them. Instead, a lot of teams opted against pursuing Jackson, some of them publicly making their announcements. Granted, they had to sign Jackson to an offer sheet that allowed the Ravens to match it, but we digress.
With Jackson one win away from reaching the Super Bowl, here are five teams who have to regrt not trying to acquire the quarterback.
5. Washington Commanders
It's no secret that the Washington Commanders have tried to bring in a star quarterback to help them make it out of the NFC East and into the Super Bowl. They were linked to Russell Wilson in 2022 before losing out on him to the Denver Broncos that year. But last offseason, the Commanders did have the chance to bring in a legitimate star in Jackson.
The Commanders were one of the teams linked as a potential landing spot for Jackson. But, that never came to fruition. General manager Martin Mayhew shut down the rumors of the Commanders trying to bring in Jackson. Instead, Mayhew said the team was going to roll with Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett as the team's top quarterbacks.
That decision ultimately backfired for the Commanders. Well, kind of.
Howell showed promise early on in the season as the starter, at one point even leading the entire NFL in passing yards. But his play regressed due in part to the amount of pressure Washington's offensive line allowed. Howell threw for 3,946 yards and 21 touchdowns on a 63.4 completion percentage but led the league with 21 interceptions and 65 sacks.
While this didn't pan out for the Commanders, they finished the season poorly enough (4-13 record) to clinch the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, putting them in position to select one of the top quarterback prospects in either USC's Caleb Williams or North Carolina's Drake Maye.