Falcons' Arthur Blank explains why team is out on Lamar Jackson, faces criticism

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Lamar Jackson is the best free agent left on the market even if a team other than the Baltimore Ravens is looking to acquire him and may have to give up multiple first-round draft picks.

The Atlanta Falcons are a team with young players prime to breakout over the next season. Arthur Blank, the Falcons’ team owner, made clear he was going to stick with Desmond Ridder as the starting quarterback despite the former Cincinnati standout only having two touchdown passes in the four games he started.

Blank said Tuesday he was impressed with how far Ridder has come from the first day he walked into the facility to the final game of the 2022 season.

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Desmond Ridder, #4 of the Atlanta Falcons, scrambles with the ball against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Jan. 8, 2023 in Atlanta. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

But what about Jackson? The Ravens quarterback could be a game-changer for the franchise, and it appeared the Falcons were in the market for a quarterback last season as they were finalists for Deshaun Watson, despite Watson being in the middle of two dozen civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual misconduct. The team reportedly balked at giving Watson a fully guaranteed contract.

Blank explained the situation this year was different from last and lamented the restraints the team would have if they invested a quarter of the team’s money in a single player.

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Quarterback Lamar Jackson, #8 of the Baltimore Ravens, warms up prior to their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at M&T Bank Stadium on Dec. 20, 2020 in Baltimore. (Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)

"I think we explored the one last year, which is what our responsibility was," Blank said of a potential Watson deal, via Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We didn’t explore it deeply, deeply. We spent some time on it from a legal standpoint, personal standpoint, value standpoint on the player and a variety of things. Soon after we got into exploring, we decided it wasn’t a very good match."

He added, "I think Lamar’s situation, and I don’t really want to spend a whole lot of time talking about players on other clubs, but Lamar’s situation, I think is very different. A different player. Different time."

The explanation did not sit right with the NFL world.

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Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank looks on before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on Sept. 25, 2022 in Seattle. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Atlanta was in the mix for the NFC South title, finishing 7-10. The team has not made the playoffs since the 2017 season – the same year they last finished with a record above .500.