If Lamar Jackson is “respectfully” not going to talk about his current contract situation then neither he nor the Ravens should have any problem with sportsbooks taking bets on where he’ll play in 2023 and beyond.
For most sportsbooks, the Ravens remain the decisive favorite to retain Jackson for 2023. But there are two teams with pretty strong odds as well.
According to Bookie.com, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are +750 to acquire Jackson next year. The Miami Dolphins have similar odds.
Tampa Bay and Miami both make sense for a variety of reasons. The Buccaneers will most likely need a new starting quarterback if/when Tom Brady retires. Meanwhile, the Dolphins will have to decide whether to pick up Tua Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option or start making plans for his replacement.
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens were unable to come to terms on a new contract before the 2022 NFL season and as such will see Jackson play out the final year of his rookie contract. But that doesn’t mean they’ll just let Jackson get up and leave in the offseason.
Jackson will most likely get the franchise tag, tying him to the Ravens for another year unless the Ravens agree to trade him.
But tagging Jackson comes at a risk as he would count massively against their offseason cap space.
Suffice it to say, it’s in the Ravens’ best interests to present him with a better contract offer that he might actually accept if they want to avoid losing him or a ton of cap space next year.