Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
Having quarterbacked the Baltimore Ravens to 13 wins in 16 games and home-field advantage throughout the NFL playoffs, Lamar Jackson rested his case, sitting out last Sunday’s season finale against Pittsburgh.
Baltimore had nothing to gain as the AFC’s top seed, and Jackson had nothing to lose as the league’s presumptive Most Valuable Player. If voters were uncertain before his last game, against Miami, he nailed the closing argument, throwing for 321 yards and five touchdowns with a perfect passer rating.
Jackson turned 27 on Sunday, but validation never gets old.
He’s on the verge of making NFL history as the first Heisman Trophy winner to win multiple MVP awards. And while other contenders are likely to receive votes this season, Jackson (2019) remains the only player besides Tom Brady (2010) to win the award unanimously.
“Not bad for a running back,” Jackson joked with reporters following the 2019 season opener, when he posted his first perfect passer rating. He finished that campaign with the NFL single-season rushing record for quarterbacks, 1,206 yards, previously held by Michael Vick.
Jackson doesn’t run as often as he did earlier in his career when the Ravens’ offense was less creative and more reliant on his legs. But he’s still among the league’s most dynamic and explosive ball carriers, the skillset that overshadows his passing ability. That was the knock against him in 2018 and it remains in place today.
“I want my quarterbacks to be quarterbacky,” FOX Sports Radio’s Monse Bolaños said Dec. 28 after Baltimore destroyed the San Franciso 49ers. “To me, Lamar Jackson is just a great athlete.”
Hall of Fame general manager Bill Polian thought Jackson was a great athlete who needed to switch to wide receiver.
“Short and a little bit slight,” Polian
Read the full article here
