Decision Made On Patriots' Pursuit Of Lamar Jackson: Report

Buffalo Bills v Baltimore Ravens

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The New England Patriots reportedly won't pursue Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, a league source told the Athletic's Jeff Howe on Wednesday (March 29).

"Patriots will not pursue Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson: Source via @TheAthletic," Howe tweeted.

The report comes days after Patriots owner owner Robert Kraft said his close friend, rapper Meek Mill, texted him that Jackson wanted to join the Patriots several days before the former NFL MVP publicly announced that he previously requested a trade from the Baltimore Ravens on Monday (March 27).

Kraft said the rapper texted him three or four days ago while addressing reporters at the first day of the NFL Owners' Meetings in Arizona, but said the "decision" on whether to acquire Jackson would be up to head coach Bill Belichick.

"That's Bill's decision," Kraft said via the Boston Globe's Ben Volin.

Jackson said he requested a trade earlier this month after the Ravens had "not been interested in meeting my value" during negotiations on a long-term deal and later decided to instead place a $32.4 million non-exclusive franchise tag on him. The Ravens had until 4:00 p.m. ET on March 7 to notify the league about its franchise tag decision to place a non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson earlier this month.

A non-exclusive franchise tag allows Baltimore to have the option to either match another team's offer to sign the quarterback or receive trade compensation.

Jackson led Baltimore to an 8-4 record, which included throwing for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions on 203 of 326 passing, while also recording a team best 764 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns on 112 attempts, prior to suffering a season-ending PCL injury. The Ravens ranked ninth among all 32 NFL teams with an average of 23.1 points per game during Jackson's 12 starts, but dropped to 13.0 points per game, the second fewest in the league, while going 2-3 in his absence during their final five games of the regular-season.

The Ravens reportedly offered Jackson a rejected deal worth $113 million in guarantees that would have "eventually raised" to a total of $113 million, a source with knowledge of the situation told ESPN's Ryan Clark in January.

Last week, the NFL sent a memo to its 32 teams warning not to negotiate with Jackson's business partner, Ken Francis, who was referred to as "an uncertified person." The memo, which was obtained and shared by ESPN's Adam Schefter, warned teams that Francis, who is not certified by the NFLPA, was "prohibited from negotiating Offer Sheets or Player Contracts, or discussing potential trades on behalf of any NFL player or prospective player or assisting in or advising with respect to such negotiations."

"Clubs are reminded that, under Article 48 of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, an Offer Sheet, which may result in an NFL Player Contract, may only be negotiated with the player, if he is acting on his own behalf, or with the player's NFLPA certified agent. To be clear, Mr. Jackson is not currently represented by an NFLPA certified agent," the league wrote. "Violation of this rule may result in disapproval of any Offer Sheet or resulting Player Contract entered into by Mr. Jackson and the new Club."

Jackson denied reports that Francis was negotiating deals with NFL teams.

"Stop Lying that man never tried to negotiate for me," Jackson tweeted.

Jackson, a former NFL MVP and Offensive Rookie of the Year, has spent his entire NFL career with the Ravens since being selected No. 32 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.


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