Burdge: Patriots Should Not Pursue Lamar Jackson
The Patriots might have some of the best next team odds for Jackson but shouldn't pursue him
Lucy Burdge - Mar 24, 2023, 10:21pm EDT
It’s been a bizarre 24 hours in the Lamar Jackson saga.
First, it was revealed that the NFL sent a memo to all teams warning them to not to negotiate with someone named Ken Francis in regards to Jackson, who has no official agent. This seemingly mysterious Ken Francis (who may or may be the alter ego of Jackson himself) is not an NFLPA certified agent.
Then, Jackson tweeted out a video promoting a product called The Entire Gym he is apparently “dropping” with his business partner, Ken.
Putting two and two together, it would seem the Ken from Jackson’s tweet is the same Ken from the NFL memo.
But THEN Jackson responded to the news of the NFL memo, tweeting, “Stop Lying that man never tried to negotiate for me.” Other tweets from Jackson in the past 18 hours include such hits as “This is Everyday But 'It’s Ok not to be ok' Mental health awareness” with a picture of Ben Affleck photoshopped in a Ravens jersey and “I’m the storm” with a bunch of tornado and lightning emojis. I’m not really sure what’s going on here.
And then I noticed the Patriots are in the top two teams on the list of next team odds to land Jackson. They are, in fact, second on the list.
As of March 22 at PointsBet, the Patriots’ odds to land Jackson are +300, behind only the Colts, who top the list with +200 odds. The Titans at +700 and the Commanders and Lions tied at +800 round out the top five teams on the list.
I don’t think the Patriots should attempt to sign Jackson. There’s just too much risk there with some of the drama, the cost and his injury history. They should stick with Mac Jones and the potential there with the addition of Bill O’Brien to the coaching staff. It’s too soon to give up on Jones.
(Although, I’m not completely out on the potential of the Patriots swooping in to snag Aaron Rodgers, but he also comes with his own baggage and risk and that is a bit farfetched of a scenario.)
In any event, I hope the Patriots stay away from going after Jackson despite these odds suggesting they might be in the mix.
Nice try, Ken Francis.
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