Report: New England Patriots won’t pursue Lamar Jackson despite recent links

Arguably the biggest news in the NFL right now is the ongoing drama revolving around former MVP Lamar Jackson.

Jackson recently revealed that he requested a trade from the Baltimore Ravens, though no deal has yet taken place. According to a recent report, one team that is not expected to be in the mix for him is the New England Patriots, despite the fact that the two sides have been linked as of late.

“It’s just not going to happen, according to a league source,” Jeff Howe of The Athletic wrote.

Howe added some additional insight into why the Patriots are not seen as a realistic landing spot for Jackson.

“The Patriots’ expectations this offseason, as The Athletic has previously reported, is that Mac Jones will be the Patriots’ starting quarterback in 2023,” he wrote. “Bailey Zappe made enough progress as a rookie to believe he can compete to push Jones, but the 2021 first-rounder out of Alabama will likely win the job for the third consecutive season.”

Furthermore, Howe stated that while Jones is not the reason the Patriots are not interested in pursuing Jackson, the cost that it would take to land him certainly is.

“To be clear, the Patriots aren’t out on Jackson because of Jones,” he wrote. “Those are mutually exclusive situations, with the price on Jackson in salary and draft compensation being too much of a non-starter.”

One really interesting wrinkle to the story is Jackson’s apparent interest in joining the Patriots. In fact, team owner Robert Kraft recently revealed that rapper Meek Mill texted him saying that Jackson wanted to join the Patriots.

Kraft responded to that information by saying that the decision is head coach Bill Belichick’s to make.

At this point, it is hard to know what exactly is going to happen with Jackson. The Ravens seem reluctant to give him the type of deal he wants, and there doesn’t look to be a major trade market opening up for him despite his undeniable talent.

The likely reason for the lack of a healthy market is probably due to a combination of the amount it would take to trade for him to go along with the kind of money Jackson wants in a new contract.

On top of that, there are some valid concerns about his health that have to be addressed. Over the last two seasons, Jackson has managed to play in just 12 games per season. His record is 15-9 in those games.

Last season, Jackson completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 2,242 yards and 17 touchdowns. He added 764 yards and three scores on the ground.