NFL personnel evaluator has surprising take about Raiders, Lamar Jackson trade rumors

Not long after it was suggested that the Baltimore Ravens could trade quarterback Lamar Jackson following the club's firing of longtime head coach John Harbaugh, NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk linked Jackson with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Many members of the NFL community have understandably brushed away the idea that the Ravens would truly entertain trading a two-time Most Valuable Player Award winner in his physical prime. For a piece published on Tuesday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler spoke with "league executives, coaches and scouts" about their bold predictions for the NFL offseason.

According to Fowler, "multiple people I spoke with who track such things used their one bold prediction in this exercise to designate Jackson a Raider."

Would Mark Davis go after Lamar Jackson if others weren't "on board" with the move? 

"It just seems like there's been some consternation there with Lamar and the Ravens, and this would be the ultimate Mark Davis move," an NFL personnel evaluator said about the Raiders owner possibly pursuing Jackson during a chat with Fowler. "I'm not even convinced everybody with Vegas would be on board with it, but it would instantly solve their quarterback problems."

The Raiders may be a bit of a dysfunctional mess with general manager John Spytek and minority owner Tom Brady seemingly running the franchise's front office. As for the previously mentioned "consternation," a recent report shared that at least Harbaugh had allegedly grown "tired of" Jackson before Harbaugh was relieved of his duties. 

Injuries caused Jackson to miss 11 games (playoffs included) from Week 1 of the 2021 season through the 2022 campaign, and he was limited to 13 starts this season due to physical setbacks. 

Jackson signed a five-year contract reportedly worth up to $260M with $185M guaranteed in the spring of 2023. As Ryan Mink of the Ravens' website noted, Jackson will likely need to work out a contract extension with his employer this offseason for reasons related to the salary cap.

Ravens "probably" will make this Lamar Jackson call 

"From chemistry issues with the previous coaching staff to concerns about his availability, Jackson's relationship with the Ravens does not seem to be in the best spot," Fowler added. "Baltimore probably realizes life with a two-time MVP is better than life without, which would mean a big contract offer is coming. But this is a situation to monitor, and how Jackson hits it off with the new head coach feels significant."

It wasn't that long ago when reports claimed that the Ravens would "probably" run it back with Harbaugh for another season. In short, it sounds like quarterback-needy teams should be calling the Ravens about Jackson's availability until either an extension or a trade is announced.