Lamar Jackson is slimmed down and Isaiah Likely said he’s more lethal than ever before.
Viral photos over the offseason showed Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is looking leaner than he did in 2023. Last month, strength & conditioning coordinator Scott Elliott said he’s “never been more excited in April about Lamar Jackson.” And earlier this week, Jackson confirmed the lean look is real after appearing on Complex Sports’ “I Got Time Today,” saying he’s 10 pounds lighter than last season and 25 pounds lighter than in 2022.
“I was 230 two years ago,” Jackson said. “I was 215 last season, but now I’m like 205.”
This means we could be seeing a faster Lamar Jackson, more akin to his electrifying 2019 season in which he won his first league MVP award and became the second-ever unanimous MVP.
But according to tight end Isaiah Likely, who joined Up & Adams, “unanimous” may not even be the word to describe Jackson’s pending 2024 campaign.
“I seen ‘L,’ he was back throwing and I’m walking, I’m looking and I’m like, ‘who is that?’ And he runs over to me and I’m like, ‘man, ain’t no way. What you ain’t been eating, ‘L’?’ And he’s like, ‘man, I’m good now. I’m back, running high ‘L,’’” Likely told Kay Adams. “I’m just going to say it. If you all thought ‘L’ was fast before, thought ‘L’ couldn’t get caught before. Man. I’m telling you. I don’t know if unanimous is going to be the word this year. That’s all I’m going to say.”
In recent seasons, it was assumed Jackson added the weight to become sturdier and stronger to better handle the physical play of the NFL and AFC North in particular. But, a slimmed-down version is expected to better translate to speed and quickness, Jackson’s signature ability. And last year, when he played at a lighter weight, he was healthy the full regular season as opposed to the years prior.
A slimmed down, faster Lamar Jackson paired with the incomparable Derrick Henry in the backfield is coming for it all in 2024.