5 teams that already regret not acquiring Lamar Jackson when they had the chance

1. Atlanta Falcons

Finally, we get to the Atlanta Falcons. This was a team that was pretty complete heading into the 2023 season. The defense made much-needed additions in safety Jessie Bates and defensive lineman Calais Campbell. On offense, they had star-caliber players in wide receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts. The one area of need that had to be addressed was quarterback. While, yes, the team did have Desmond Ridder on the roster as a third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, he was still an unknown. Lamar Jackson was a known commodity and a top quarterback in the league.

That's why it was a shock when the Falcons, who were aggressively trying to trade for Deshaun Watson in 2022, were ruled out of the Jackson sweepstakes instantly. Reports indicated the Falcons would not pursue Jackson, and owner Arthur Blank publicly stated that his injury history was one of the reasons why.

Those comments would come back to haunt Blank. Jackson played in Baltimore's first 16 games and sat in the season finale after they clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Jackson threw for 3,678 yards, 24 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while completing 67.2 percent of his passes. Additionally, Jackson ran for 821 yards and five touchdowns on 148 carries.

As for the Falcons, they moved forward with Ridder as the starter and Taylor Heinicke as the backup. If anything, the quarterback play held Atlanta back from clinching the NFC South this season. Ridder threw for 2,836 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions while completing 64.2 percent of his passes in 15 games (6-7 win-loss record). Heinicke, meanwhile, recorded 890 passing yards, five passing touchdowns, and four interceptions on a 54.4 completion percentage.

It's unknown how Jackson would have fared on the Falcons with Arthur Smith as head coach, considering his conservative play-calling. But one thing is for certain, the Falcons could have made the playoffs if they had gotten a good quarterback this past offseason. Now, they have to figure it out at the start of the 2024 league year.