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As Ravens QB Lamar Jackson prepares to sit for his fifth straight game with a PCL injury, 2 Pros and a Cup of Joe wonder how much of that decision comes from the uncertainty about his future with the organization.
Jonas Knox: "It feels like there's something that maybe we're not being told or that's not happening here with Lamar Jackson as they get ready to take on the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend."
Brady Quinn: "How much of this do you think has to do with the contract or lack thereof in this case? This might be one of those circumstances where he's staring free agency in the face, now they can use the exclusive franchise tag, but I don't think he wants to go that route. I think this might be something where he's got a knee injury that's serious enough to miss a period of time but there's also a thought to:
'Do I really want to put myself at risk for an organization that drafted me, has seen me play for five years, I've helped this team be a winning football team, I've won the MVP, yet they don't want to invest in me? What am I really putting myself in harm's way or risk for if I could potentially injure something worse, if they're not willing to commit?'
I wonder if those thoughts are going through his head right now because I feel like they would be for me, at least naturally as a player if you were in his shoes who's done as much as he's done."
LaVar Arrington: "I'm hoping that this isn't contract related. Just for the simple fact that to me, he's one of those guys that comes across as an old school football player. You've seen what has happened with football players that have played in the Ravens organization. They've been celebrated, they've been rewarded and for the most part, they generally have started and finished their careers in Baltimore which you don't really see too often anymore. So I hope that's not the case, that it's the contractual situation that is dictating this."