Richard Sherman blames Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen for the Lamar Jackson saga
Richard Sherman added two more people to the list of people who could be responsible for Lamar Jackson’s contract dilemma, but they have nothing to do with a franchise’s front office.
In an episode of “The Richard Sherman Podcast” alongside former Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson, Sherman blamed Chiefs star and MVP Patrick Mahomes and Bills quarterback Josh Allen for redirecting the previous for that quarterbacks receive fully guaranteed contracts.
“What pissed me off was when Kirk Cousins got his fully guaranteed deal, I thought quarterbacks were now going to say, ‘If it’s not guaranteed, I’m not taking it. ‘” Sherman said. “SO [Patrick] Mahomes took this deal BS – only 10 years old and wanted it to look like half a [billion]. But if you get half of that, fully guaranteed, everyone’s happy. This sets a precedent.
“But when [Mahomes] didn’t define it, then Josh Allen didn’t define it, now Lamar [Jackson]try to settle it after Deshaun [Watson]is already settled. And they’re like, ‘Nah.’
It’s been a strange offseason for Jackson, the 26-year-old who won the 2019 NFL MVP award as a sophomore quarterback.
The Ravens applied the non-exclusive franchise tag to Jackson before the March 7 deadline, meaning other teams could negotiate with Jackson and Baltimore would have the ability to match any offer sheet – receiving compensation if he eventually leaves.
Instead of teams competing for Jackson, however, negotiations stalled.
Instead of teams publicly saying they’re interested in Jackson, the popular trend has been to communicate the opposite.
And instead of having a solidified long-term contract, Jackson’s future in the NFL remains unknown.
Kirk Cousins became the first NFL quarterback to sign a fully guaranteed deal when he agreed to a three-year, $84 million deal with the Vikings, and DeShaun Watson signed a 230-year extension million over five years with the Browns after their acquisition in March. 2022 fully guaranteed.
But the deals negotiated between the two – Mahomes and his 10-year contract with the Chiefs, Allen and his six-year extension with the Bills – have diverted the talk for fully guaranteed contracts from the attention Sherman thinks he deserves. .
Jackson also received support from NFL Players Association executive chairman DeMaurice Smith earlier this month when he tore into NFL owners and their hesitation over guaranteed contracts in an article on the NFLPA website – noting that owners prefer to avoid these types of deals because “they’re better for the players than they are for the owners.
“A fully guaranteed contract in Jackson’s case means that all quarterbacks whose rookie contracts expire (and should anyway) demand them in the next cycle,” Smith wrote in his post. “Make no mistake, what’s happening right now is their effort to lock in the same cycle that ushered in fully guaranteed contracts in other sports, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing in the NFL. following the Cousins and Watson contracts.”
Smith also noted that the solution to Jackson’s situation will be important to watch with other young quarterbacks approaching extensions where they could capitalize on fully guaranteed deals.
Sherman, however, said he would be upset if those quarterbacks — especially Joe Burrow — received different treatment from league owners than Jackson.
“When Burrow comes along and he asks the exact same thing, and the same people who are crazy about Lamar aren’t crazy, I’m going to be crazy,” Sherman said.
New York Post
