Mike Florio: Is Lamar Jackson More Likely to Hire Agent Or Sit Out of 2023 NFL Season?

Is Lamar Jackson more likely to hire agent or sit out of 2023 season? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Quarterback Lamar Jackson has not had an agent since being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2018.

In the wake of the Ravens placing a non-exclusive franchise tag on the 26-year-old ahead of Tuesday’s tag deadline, ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio believes it’s more likely Jackson sits out for the 2023 season than hire an agent. 

“There’s no way he’s hiring an agent at this point,” Florio said. “It’s become a point of pride. He’s not going to admit he was wrong. Hiring an agent in his mind would be admitting he was wrong all along.”

This tag would pay Jackson $32.4 million in 2023 while giving him the option to neogitate long-term deals with other teams.

The Ravens and Jackson haven’t been able to work out a long-term deal for 2.5 years making it far-fetched for the two sides to work one out by the deadline, July 15.

“I will not be flabbergasted if Lamar Jackson does not play in 2023,” Florio said.

To add another layer, Florio is advising teams to avoid Jackson because he has never had an agent. 

“We don’t want that with our quarterback. We want our quarterback to be fully on board and malleable and easy for us to work with when we need to work with him,” Florio said on “PFT Live” Wednesday when offering possible perspectives from other teams. 

The 2019 NFL MVP has earned two Pro Bowl nods in his career. He was sidelined last season after Week 13 after suffering a PCL injury.