Owner of the Atlanta Falcons, Arthur Blank, sacked head coach Arthur Smith formally early on Monday morning. Later in the day, he talked with the media about the team’s missed opportunity to sign Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in the previous offseason.
“Was it a mistake to not pursue? You’re asking me that? . . . I don’t think so,” Blank said about Jackson, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “I’m mean, it’s easy to say ‘yes’ given his year, and he’s obviously an incredible player. You know, we did not have the cap space. I think the coaching staff felt — coach and personnel, all of us felt collectively, with certainly coach and (general manager Terry Fontenot) that we felt we had an answer in (2022 third-round draft pick Desmond Ridder), a younger player without that kind of contract that would’ve kept us from actually building the team we wanted to build.”
Jackson was frequently associated with the Falcons before and after the Ravens used the non-exclusive franchise tag to preserve his rights through 2023. However, Smith declared in late March that Ridder would continue to be his starting quarterback through the spring. Later on in the previous season, Smith benched Ridder for a spell, making Jackson the team’s likely MVP candidate.
In the end, Jackson agreed to a five-year deal with Baltimore that was allegedly worth up to $260 million, with $185 million guaranteed.
“I think the result of that thinking was let’s stay the course,” Blank added on Monday. “Let’s continue to pursue the vision that we have now. And go from there. It’s not a criticism of Lamar. You can debate whether or not he would’ve been available or not. Who knows if they were able to match whatever offers were on the table? I don’t know that. I’m not sure. But certainly a great player. He certainly had a great year.”
With an adjusted QBR of 39.9 and a passer rating of 83.4, Ridder finished the season ranked 26th among qualified players, according to ESPN metrics. He completed 12 passes for touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 15 games.
Jackson led the 13-4 Ravens to the top seed in the AFC round of the postseason tournament, in the meantime.
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