Falcons owner: Not pursuing Lamar wasn't a mistake
Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank said Monday he doesn't think his team made a mistake by not pursuing then-disgruntled Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson during the 2023 offseason.
"We felt we had an answer in (Desmond) Ridder," Blank said, per Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team. "Younger player without that kind of contract that would've kept us from building the team we wanted to build."
Blank's comments come a day after the Falcons fired head coach Arthur Smith following a third straight 7-10 season. Ridder - a 2022 third-round pick - finished the campaign with only 12 passing touchdowns to 12 interceptions and was eventually benched for Taylor Heinicke.
Jackson, who's the MVP favorite this year, negotiated an extension with the Ravens during the 2023 offseason. Baltimore applied the franchise tag on the star passer after failing to sign a long-term deal before a March deadline. The non-exclusive tag placed on Jackson allowed other clubs to negotiate with him, but Baltimore would've been able to match another team's offer to retain his services. Jackson later revealed that he requested a trade from Baltimore before receiving the tag.
The market for the former MVP was colder than expected, though, and he reportedly didn't receive any offers from other teams. Jackson has said that multiple clubs reached out to him, but he chose to stay with the Ravens, who rewarded him in April with a five-year, $260-million extension that includes $185 million guaranteed.
Despite boasting $66.4 million in cap space last offseason, the Falcons were one of the teams that opted not to pursue Jackson. Blank, however, said on Monday his team didn't have enough salary cap room to build a competitive roster and sign Jackson to one of the most lucrative contracts ever.
"We want to be able to raise our own children and keep our own children as best as we can," Blank said Monday. "The result of that thinking was let's stay the course, let's continue to pursue the vision that we have now, continue to build a roster, build a foundation offensively and defensively, and go from there. It's not a criticism of Lamar.
"You can debate whether or not he would really have been available or not. Who knows whether they would've matched whatever offers were on the table."
Consistency at quarterback has been one of Atlanta's main issues in the post-Matt Ryan era. The club has had three different Week 1 starters since 2021: Ryan, Marcus Mariota, and Ridder.
The Falcons pursued a trade for Deshaun Watson in 2022 before the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback joined the Cleveland Browns. Watson signed a fully guaranteed $230-million contract after joining Cleveland.
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