OWINGS MILLS — After winning his second NFL MVP award last season, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson decided to lose weight to become even faster.
Jackson said this offseason he lost about 10 pounds from and will play at 205 pounds. While Jackson told the media that he wanted to be more agile, he also saw something that motivated him when he watched game tape.
“I don’t like getting caught if I do decide to run.” Jackson told CBS Sports this week at training camp.”My eyes might be deceiving me, but I believe I looked a little slower, but not now.”
Jackson did not look slow to opposing defenses.
He led the Ravens with 821 yards rushing, averaging 5.5 yards per carry and five scores. Jackson’s seven 50-yard rushing games gave Jackson 54 in his career, tying Michael Vick’s all-time mark for quarterbacks. He also became the first quarterback to run for 700 or more yards in five consecutive seasons, He was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Weeks 7 and 17.
Many pundits predict that Jackson will run fewer times this season with four-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry in the backfield. However, Jackson’s ability to scramble and pick up chunks of yards is a huge part of his success.
Jackson’s main focus during training camp is being more explosive with the passing game. He has found some success throwing the ball downfield for more than 20 yards, but he is still working on his accuracy.
Quarterbacks coach Tee Martin expects Jackson to perform better with his deep passes each practice.
“You’ve got to let it rip,” Martin said. “You can’t get into the head of the thrower – you just can’t, you just can’t. You just keep getting reps with those people, and so many things are variables there. Did he get moved off his spot in the pocket? Was it a clean release? [Was it] the position of the DB [defensive back] – so on and so forth. So, you don’t make any excuses; you just go at it again and just keep trying until you get perfection, and that’s what we’re all trying to reach – is perfection – here, and that’s what we’re doing.
“That’s what training camp is about; that’s what … The whole season; you never peak until your last rep of that season, but we’re always chasing that.”
Jackson’s goal is to bring a championship back to Baltimore, even if that means running the ball 150 times. Jackson made a promise that he would win a Super Bowl moments after the Ravens drafted him in 2018. He has been exceptional during the regular season but has a 2-4 playoff record.
“That’s been the first checkbox for me since 2018. I said that [on] April 26th – whenever I was drafted – I said that, and I meant that,” Jackson said. “This is the highest level of the game we play. You’ve got to go out a champion, and that’s what I want to be labeled as – a champion. [I don’t] just want to be labeled as MVP [Most Valuable Player] here and there; I want to be a champion.”
