A former MVP, Lamar Jackson is still in the prime of his career but could be sporting a new uniform next season if his contract needs are not met by the Baltimore Ravens. According to BetOnline, the website has already put down odds on the top teams favored to employ Jackson next season as their starting quarterback. These organizations include the Atlanta Falcons (+450) and New York Jets (+450) as the top two favorites, while there is a three-way tie for third place between the Dolphins, Patriots, and Raiders at +750. Though the Baltimore brain trust of head coach John Harbaugh and general manager Eric DeCosta have stated their intentions of bringing Jackson back, his franchise tag price could be daunting.
In this article, SBS will be going over the latest news from BetOnline along with even more notes and information about wagering with the site.
According to one report, while Harbaugh and DeCosta are definitely making it known they want to keep their star quarterback in Baltimore, it could prove tricky given his contract stipulations or rather lack thereof. Jackson is currently playing without a new deal but could be signed with a franchise tag by the team. However, under the exclusive franchise tag for the Ravens, this would cost Baltimore $45 million to keep him in-house. The other option here is that the Ravens could use the non-exclusive tag which would be in the ballpark of $30-35 million annually, but Baltimore would receive two first-round picks in return should a new team sign him.
With that in mind, one of the teams mentioned above would love to have Jackson be their new signal-caller in 2023 and perhaps gladly pay such a fee for his services. The deadline for applying the franchise tag is March 8th, but it is plausible that Jackson stays in Baltimore even though BetOnline does not think this is an option. Regarding the squads above, it is not a surprise that the Falcons and Jets top the list as both teams featured sporadic quarterback play in 2022. Atlanta’s main quarterback last season was another former Heisman winner, Marcus Mariota, but he was inconsistent for the Dirty Birds. Meanwhile, former first-round pick Zack Wilson was injured and then benched by the Jets and replaced by locker room favorite Matt White for long periods of the season.
In some reports, Jackson has already made it known that his future in Baltimore could be coming to an end. As mentioned on the Pardon My Take podcast late last year, the 26-year-old apparently favorited a tweet that mentioned him going to the Jets. In addition to Atlanta and New York, the Raiders, also make for an intriguing landing spot given the uncertain future of incumbent starter Derek Carr. That said, the AFC West is already a loaded quarterback division (with Pro Bowlers Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and Russell Wilson) so perhaps moving to the NFC would make for a better fit for Jackson to make another playoff run.
That said, the other two favorites mentioned above, the Pats and Dolphins are AFC East squads, but have two different quarterback situations both featuring former Crimson Tide signal-callers. The former features an unsettled starter situation for former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones as the presumed leader even after an inconsistent 2022. Miami is more settled in that department with Tua Tagovailoa leading the way. However, Tagovailoa had a couple of scary concussion scares this season, casting some doubt on his future in the Sunshine State.
Once you are all squared away regarding the latest news from BetOnline, SBS has you covered with a variety of great information that will keep your bets moving along. For even more great info from the website at hand, our BetOnline sportsbook review rundown has you covered with all the latest from the online sportsbook including the latest promos and contests. Moreover, if you are maybe uncertain about which payment options are the best fit for you, do not worry as we have you covered again. This is where the SBS payment methods guide comes into play as it breaks down all kinds of options from crypto to traditional payment routes. Finally, given the topic at hand, maybe familiarizing yourself with the SBS NFL betting sites breakdown would also not be a bad idea for the 2023 season.