Lamar Jackson, whose future remains one of the NFL’s biggest offseason stories, took to Twitter Tuesday night to push back against critics who questioned his toughness or said he was sitting out games because of his contract status.
Jackson suffered a PCL injury on Dec. 4 against the Broncos.
“Let’s get real,” Jackson tweeted. “I’d rather have 100% PCL than go out there and play terrible and force my guys into bad situations, that’s selfish of me.
“I don’t remember sitting in my guys week 1 and the jets week 12 against the broncos,” Jackson wrote in another tweet. “How can I suddenly sit down for money at any point in that time frame (thinking emoji) when we know I’ve got the Super Bowl on my mind since April 2018.”
Earlier, Falcons owner Arthur Blank told The Athletic that his team is not pursuing Jackson, in part because of his injury history.
Last season, Atlanta made a push for Deshaun Watson, who has many of Jackson’s similar skill sets.
Lamar JacksonAP
Jackson — who missed the Ravens’ last few games, including a 24-17 shutout against the Bengals — is drawing interest from other teams.
The Colts have a veteran quarterback on their radar if the price is right.
On Monday, Jackson said he had asked the Ravens for a trade, five days before the team was set to apply the non-exclusive franchise tag.
“As of March 2nd, I asked the Ravens organization for a trade that the Ravens have not been interested in meeting my value, everyone who has met me or been around me knows I love the game of football and my dream is to help. one team wins the super bowl,” Jackson wrote in a multi-tweet “letter” to his fans.
“You all are great, but I had to make a business decision that was best for my family and me. No matter where I go or where my career takes me, I will always be close to my fans in Baltimore Flock Nation and the entire state of Maryland. Again you will see me”.