Ravens GM Eric DeCosta addresses Lamar Jackson trade request on podcast
BALTIMORE - Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta was at the NFL Combine in early March when star quarterback Lamar Jackson requested a trade.
Jackson announced his request on social media back on March 27, about a month before he agreed to a massive five-year, $260 million contract extension.
DeCosta addressed the trade request on the Adam Jones Podcast, sponsored by our media partner The Baltimore Banner.
"What I learned from Ozzie Newsome, the great GM, is to always remain as patient as possible," DeCosta said. "Take a breath, assess the situation, don't do anything rash, be strategic in your approach and do what's best for the club."
DeCosta said the Ravens had no interest in trading away Jackson, who was given the non-exclusive franchise tag and was permitted to negotiate with other teams.
He said he just continued to engage with Jackson, which ultimately led to him signing his contract on May 4, making him the NFL's highest-paid player, in terms of yearly salary.
"In this instance where we truthfully had no interest or desire in trading Lamar, we did nothing," DeCosta said. "We continued to engage with Lamar. We tried to listen, to hear him, to hear where he is coming from in hopes that we could put an offer on the table that would be attractive to him and that would give him a chance to assess what he really wants to do."
DeCosta said he's accommodated other players in the past who requested trades.
However, he was motivated to get a long-term deal completed with Jackson.
"We've had other players over the past four years demand a trade," DeCosta said. "In some cases, we've helped that along and traded players. But in this case, trading Lamar Jackson was kind of a non-starter. My motivation and my ultimate game plan was to do a long-term deal."
Jackson has missed 10 games combined the past two years and was unable to finish both seasons.
He passed for 2,242 yards with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions last season and gained more than 760 yards. In 2021, Jackson passed for 2,882 yards with 16 touchdowns to 13 interceptions.
The 32nd overall pick in 2018 won the NFL MVP in 2019.
The Ravens, this offseason, added wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Nelson Agholor, along with first-round draft pick Zay Flowers.
They also hired Todd Monken to be the team's new offensive coordinator.
