The Falcoholic
There were legitimate business reasons to not pursue Lamar Jackson, but Atlanta’s quarterback situation today still raises questions.
It’s been two years and four starting quarterbacks since the spring of Lamar Jackson’s free agency. The Atlanta Falcons entered that free agency cycle with unproven third-round pick Desmond Ridder as their quarterback.
They left with Taylor Heinicke and zero outgoing calls to the Baltimore Ravens — an equation that befuddled many across the country and caused frustrations to boil over during a volatile 2023 season.
Why?
Why didn’t the Falcons pursue Lamar Jackson? Why did the entire league take that same approach? Today, Pablo Torre and Mike Florio (nightmare cop duo) shed some light on the situation, and the answer is simple: collusion (allegedly).
Torre got his hands on the 61-page collusion ruling, and it includes never-before-disclosed details about specific player negotiations, most notably Lamar Jackson. I reviewed the document myself for this piece.
The ruling discloses the results of extensive discovery and a private hearing involving witness testimony from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, prominent quarterbacks (Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, and Russell Wilson), eight owners, NFLPA leaders, and various agents and executives. It also details a private presentation for all 32 NFL owners at an annual meeting following the Cleveland Browns’ unprecedented, fully guaranteed contract for Deshaun Watson.
Torre’s breakdown is worth your time; however, my focus is on Arthur Blank’s involvement.
Blank was one of the eight owners who testified, and his comments revealed why the team did not pursue Lamar. Per the ruling, Blank testified that Jackson’s injuries were factors in the Falcons public decision not to pursue the quarterback.
As a reminder, the Falcons publicly stated they would not pursue the MVP, something we have never seen the team do before or after this isolated incident involving a player on the market. And why would they? It is a bad approach to business. To add insult to injury, the team was so excited to sign Kirk Cousins despite a ruptured Achilles a year later that they committed a tampering violation.
Blank also testified that keeping their quarterback (Desmond Ridder) rather than pursuing Jackson gave them more cap flexibility. It’s a true statement, but it doesn’t justify passing up on a talent like Lamar, who would win his second MVP in 2023. How would the Falcons even know his cost was too high without making a call?
The NFL did not want to see another player get a contract like Deshaun Watson’s, and the Falcons played ball. The 61-page document revealed details about a closed-door owners’ meeting. The meeting contained a slide deck focusing on signing bonuses and salary guarantees. Presenters pointed out the uptick in dead cap and other non-fungible business areas. This presentation was conveniently put together after Deshaun Watson signed his guaranteed deal, but the league insists the events were unrelated.
Arthur Blank was among the few owners willing to testify about this slide deck. Blank doesn’t recall that the message was that the use of...
