Insider reveals if Colts could pursue Ravens QB Lamar Jackson

NBC Sports' Peter King sounds convinced the Indianapolis Colts have made a decision about Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson.

In his latest "Football Morning in America" column, King wrote that "if the guarantees weren’t stupid, I think the Colts would be interested" in making a move for Jackson this spring. 

"My bet is the Ravens would take the fourth pick in the draft, solely, for Jackson," King continued. "But I can’t see the Colts getting involved with Jackson having the injury history of the last two years (34 percent of the Ravens’ offensive snaps missed in ’21 and ’22, with Jackson starting and finishing one of Baltimore’s 12 December/January games in the last two years) and wanting a fully guaranteed contract." 

After Jackson revealed last Monday that he requested a trade on March 2, Colts general manager Chris Ballard hinted that his club could enter into negotiations with the one-time NFL Most Valuable Player. Jackson can speak with other teams while on the non-exclusive franchise tag, and Baltimore can either match an offer he accepts or receive two first-round draft picks as compensation. 

ESPN's Dan Graziano reported this past Thursday that Jackson "is insisting on getting more fully guaranteed money than the" fully guaranteed $230M Deshaun Watson got from the Cleveland Browns last offseason. 

Thus far, there's zero indication either the Ravens or any other team is willing to meet that supposed asking price, and it was said as recently as last week that the 26-year-old may threaten to hold out rather than play on the tag worth $32.416M for 2023-24. 

Thus far, the Atlanta Falcons, Washington Commanders, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions and New England Patriots are among organizations that have either reportedly/publicly ruled out pursuing Jackson or made offseason moves that seemingly would keep them from going after any available top-tier signal-caller. 

July 17 is the deadline for teams to sign tagged players to long-term deals.