Count longtime Patriots safety Devin McCourty among those who don't believe New England should target Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
McCourty, who recently retired after a career worthy of the Patriots Hall of Fame, knows the team's roster as well as anyone. And it's pretty evident the budding NFL analyst sees New England's roster with some holes regardless of who's behind center.
"I don't know if I would do that," McCourty said during a recent interview, per ESPN's Mike Reiss, "because once I give Lamar Jackson that money, we don't have enough right now, to me, that would be like 'This team is going to win a Super Bowl if we just put Lamar Jackson here instead of Mac (Jones).'"
McCourty, as he did when serving as the Patriots' captain, stuck up for Jones and the position Jones was in last season.
"I don't think he should be subjected to as much displeasure and scrutiny as he gets," McCourty said. "We sat here his rookie year and said, 'Hey, I'm with this! I like this new era.' We go to the playoffs and it's like 'Here we go!' Then what happened this year from an offensive situation coaching-staff-wise … He needs to have some consistency (around him)."
As it relates to Jackson, though, the Ravens placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on the signal-caller and thus gave him the opportunity to negotiate with other NFL teams. If another team signs Jackson to an offer sheet, the Ravens would have the opportunity to match it. If Baltimore opts not to match it at that time, the Ravens would receive two first-round picks as compensation.
Jackson has been linked to the Patriots by at least two NFL insiders. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on Sunday hinted how the Patriots were a "wild card" in the Jackson sweepstakes while colleague Dan Graziano also said Friday he wouldn't rule New England out of the running.
