Richard Sherman, the veteran cornerback of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers, has pointed fingers at two other quarterbacks in relation to the ongoing contract negotiations between Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. While many have speculated about who is to blame for the delay in signing a new deal with Jackson, Sherman has added two unexpected names to the list: Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.
Sherman made his comments during an appearance on ESPN’s "First Take" on Tuesday morning. He argued that because Mahomes and Allen recently signed massive extensions with their respective teams - Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills - it could be causing hesitation from both sides in finalizing a deal for Jackson.
"When you’re looking at these deals that are being done right now by these young quarterbacks, they’re getting $40 million-plus," said Sherman. "And so if I’m Baltimore, I’m saying ‘I don’t want to make a mistake’… And if you look around at what’s going on in this league with some of these young quarterbacks getting paid outlandishly high numbers before they’ve really earned them… That’s where you can say maybe there is some hesitancy there."
Jackson is widely considered one of the best young quarterbacks in football today. He won league MVP honors during his sophomore season in 2019 after leading Baltimore to a 14-2 record while throwing for over 3,000 yards and rushing for more than 1,200 yards - setting an NFL single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback.
While negotiations between Jackson's agent and team officials continue behind closed doors, fans are hopeful that an agreement will be reached soon so that he can focus solely on leading his team back into contention this upcoming season.
Only time will tell if Sherman's theory about Mahomes and Allen playing a role in Jackson's contract saga holds any weight, but it certainly adds another layer to the ever-evolving story.