Longtime sports columnist and insider Bob Kravitz joins Nestor from Indianapolis where Jim Irsay might be one of the remaining owners to covet the Ravens former MVP quarterback. Will the Colts make a play for Lamar Jackson? As all Baltimore folks know, if it says “Irsay” it’s usually unpredictable.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
jim, indianapolis, quarterback, lamar jackson, baltimore, bob kravitz, colts, lamar, year, long, ballard, ravens, wins, afc, seventh, kravitz, beat, people, reached, owners
SPEAKERS
Nestor Aparicio, Bob Kravitz
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
wn st Towson, Baltimore and Baltimore positive March Madness and the Lamar Athan continues around here. We’re gonna be doing the Maryland crabcake tour with our friends at the Maryland lottery celebrating 50 years we’re gonna be data Costas doing it on the fifth of April, kicking off baseball opening days the next day. Then the seventh, we have Springsteen opened a new arena here in Baltimore, as well as the Eagles in town that weekend will be at fade Lee’s on the seventh in the morning, welcoming a little bit of a renaissance to downtown Baltimore. I don’t know whether Lamar Jackson will be a raven, on April 5, sixth and seventh or whether we’ll be colder. I don’t know where you’ll be. But I do have friends in Indianapolis. A lot of people in Baltimore don’t admit that. But Bob Kravitz has been covering not just the National Football League in the Baltimore is Baltimore I said Baltimore Colts Wow, Indianapolis Colts that That came out wrong, didn’t it for Well, since they were the Baltimore Colts. Oh, he’s been there a long, long time through all the earth say machinations and all the Manning machinations, the Andrew Luck and Captain luck and all of that. I don’t know if there’s gonna be a Lamar era in Indianapolis. But I do reach to you, Bob to say, you do have an interesting owner out there and Jimmy or say that could make this interesting. And I think the Dan Snyder thing in DC and the owners meetings, but I just wanted to reach you and say what do you smell it out there in Indianapolis where they’re having a hard time replacing Peyton Manning? Or yeah,
8
Bob Kravitz 01:23
so it’s been six quarterbacks, or seven quarterbacks, in seven years, or this year will be their seventh straight year with a different quarterback I forget. But it’s been a whole lot. And, you know, to me, going after Lamar Jackson makes all the sense in the world. If you got the money. And I think Jim Irsay does, you know, he’s not passing the hat anywhere here in Indianapolis. I think you do it. I mean, you’ve got a guy who’s a former MVP, who will, you know, you would think would do great things with chain steak and the new coach here, who, you know, basically was there for the renaissance of Jalen Hertz in Philadelphia has done great things with very different styles of quarterbacking. And, you know, people are like, Oh, give up to first rounders. You give up a first and a third rounder for Carson freakin Wentz. You know, if you give me a guy who’s going to make Indianapolis relevant the minute he steps on the field by God, you got to make a real long you got to take a long hard look at that possibility.
Nestor Aparicio 02:34
You said Carson freaking Wentz. I guess maybe it wasn’t that the day it happened but I mean for all of the Andrew Luck thing and for what happened in the bad year and they get to pick things look perfect in the way that it looked perfect here right Flacco out we got our quarterback. Yeah, we draft him 30 Get an extra year because we pick them first year he wins an MVP. It does feel it felt very seamless here. And then you hit that point where you don’t have a quarterback and things aren’t seamless. And I think the case in point would be as if you take our quarterback and we ain’t got one no more seven and seven years. We remember that here. And it happens very quickly. You went from Oh Peyton, we’re guaranteed 12 wins a year every year as long as he’s upright. So how are we going to make the playoffs? And how are we going to compete with Trevor Lawrence Joe burrow. Whoever the next guy is you got to find your next guy.
Bob Kravitz 03:25
Well, that’s the other thing is look at the AFC look at all the elite quarterbacks in the AFC you know you can you can try to make a go of it with will Levis or Anthony Richard, Senator, whoever the Colts may end up with in the draft, but you’re looking at a couple of years unless the guy’s Stone Cold stud from from the word go. And I don’t think anybody in that top group of quarterbacks really has that. You know, I think Bryce young could be really good fast, but he ain’t gonna be there when the Colts select unless they make a move here in the next couple of weeks, which I don’t think they will. I’ve gotten real mixed feedback on whether the Colts will go after Lamar Jackson. I can only say that, from my standpoint. It may be a selfish standpoint, because he means lots of readership. Lots of eyeballs, but I think for the Colts, this is a chance you got to take. And it’s not really a chance the guy won the MVP. Not so long ago, I realized he’s missed a couple of games. The last two years. There’s some questions about this than the other thing. But you know, if you want to compete with the borough’s and the mahomes and people like that you want to be relevant again, in this town. You got to go out and you got to get Lamar Jackson.
Nestor Aparicio 04:46
8Would it matter that they put the the legwork into guaranteeing him $200 million only to have the Ravens say that will take him I go and I think the inside Word is if Turner million came down the line the Ravens So he’s yours, we’ll take the draft picks, because that’s what they’ve signed up for. I don’t want the Ravens want them anymore, Bob, you know, I think over the 10 year professionally, I don’t get the vibe, it’s never felt to me like they’re in love with the kid anymore. And it’s never really felt like he’s in love with being here anymore. And Case in point would be he’d even, you know, swing a towel and Cincinnati in a playoff game. I mean, there’s, this is a bruised relationship here. And the notion that they can make it work and certainly making it work for 32 million a year. I don’t think that’s going to work. But whether you’re gonna get a happy, there’s a lot I really want to be in Miami, or does he really want to be in Indianapolis or in Baltimore, a place like that. And I think that deep down, that’s something only he knows. But I would be very concerned about whether he wants to be a call or whether he really wants to be on your football team, because I think he’s very specific about what, in his mind, clearly, no age and all of this. He’s very specific in what he wants.
Bob Kravitz 05:55
Right? Well, you know, I mean, I keep hearing people say, well, it’s too much money. I’m like, can you spend too much money on an elite quarterback in this league? Because the Colts have tried for seven years now, to kind of patch over their quarterback issues, and it hasn’t worked. If I know that a guy like Lamar Jackson could come in tomorrow, and work with Shane Steichen and his new staff, and they do have some talent. I may still have a great running back. And Taylor, you still have DeForest Buckner, you still have Shaq, Leonard, there’s still a lot of guys here who are in their prime or entering their prime. And I’m not sure that you want to play the waiting game and go three more years, you know, give or take before you’ve got a quarterback who could win in an AFC that’s loaded.
Nestor Aparicio 06:47
Bob Kravitz is covered Indianapolis sports better than anybody for a long, long time and insights. And so I come to you and I don’t know if we’ve talked in the last year I did Jim Mercedes, New York event with his collection. It’s an amazing collection of things. I spent the evening up there. I was going to New York see Robert Plant at Forest Hills, and I went in a day early and it was one of my favorite events of last year like the Mellencamp band. Natalie merchant played that night, Mike Mills, who’s one of my all time there doing REM song. And I didn’t talk to Jim that night. I said hello to him. Briefly. Goodell was there it was in New York, it was a big thing. And cocktails were involved. It was a fun night. It wasn’t about Hey, Jim, how are you or whatever. But Jim’s always been magnanimous with me, you and I’ve talked about this, but he’s your beat. You’re on it. My people in Baltimore sees a four letter word here always will be right for you where shimmer says had winning spending money. Why would he want the march? Why would you want the bright shiny object? What’s been going on in his life to the seven quarterbacks in seven years?
Bob Kravitz 07:50
Well, I mean, clearly he’s reached. He’s reached this level of advanced frustration. You know, but but he did stay with Chris Ballard for a seventh year, which is a little surprising at the same time. He did give me a give him a contract extension through 26, I believe. So he didn’t want to pay two guys to do nothing because he gave me the extension to Reich as well. Look, Jim likes to make splashes. We all know that. And it would surprise me. You know, Ballard. Ballard, I think is more on the draft your own play conservative kind of approach. But I think Jim Irsay would be interested in a move like that. He he enjoys being in the limelight. He had a weird year now. You know, I mean, look, he’s physically and mentally is okay as I’ve ever seen him. But he did some really weird crap this year. I mean, mandating that they bench Matt Ryan, for, for the, for allander. Firing Frank Reich. I mean, he did a lot of weird stuff where he insinuated himself into the day to day goings on. He was very much like his late father,
8Nestor Aparicio 09:13
Dad did that. I was gonna say it sounds familiar. That’s not the
Bob Kravitz 09:17
way that Jim normally operates, Jim is, is hands on without being meddling. You know, I mean, he’s got a football background. He’s not a he’s not one of those owners who has 55 Different companies. And this is just a tax write off. This is Jim Mercy’s life. But I think he went overboard this past year and really turned the Colts into something of a laughingstock and you know, they paid for it man for worthy for 13 and one 412 one, so I think he wants to make it right. And I think Lamar Jackson’s a good first step.
Nestor Aparicio 09:57
Well, I the question in a place like That would be like, well, if we’re gonna lose, let’s try it. We’re losing with Lamar Jackson. We’re trying losing without Lamar Jackson. We’re not trying right, to some degree. I agree.
Bob Kravitz 10:09
8I mean, you know, there was always questions, you know, are they tanking last year? I think that was the result of some stupid moves. But I don’t. I think Jim is just weird and eccentric enough to have believed that Sam Ehlinger could pull off a couple of wins, and even Nick Foles. But, you know, I mean, for years around here, we’ve heard it’s not all about the quarterback. It’s not all about the quarterback. Guess what, it’s all about the freaking quarterback.
Nestor Aparicio 10:40
Pop Kravitz shooting it straight. So high level here. I mean, you were involved in the deflate gate and the lack of integrity and like reporting and all of this stuff with the league. Where are you on the Snyder thing? I mean, this is
Bob Kravitz 10:55
he’s got to go. I mean, you know, Jim, it’s weird. I think Jim, so enjoyed the positive pub that he got from speaking out that I think it emboldened him in a way. And I think he just, he went on this weird ego trip, where he suddenly he’s, he’s the kingmaker. He’s the guy making the moves. He’s the puppeteer. And I think that was a mistake, because it puts Chris Ballard, you know, in an impossible position. Because you know, because nobody knows who’s making the decisions. I think it’s back in Ballard flat now. But Jim did not handle last year well at all.
Nestor Aparicio 11:39
Well and him popping off to the owners to was something like that could be used against them in a legal battle. Jim muscley. I Jim did get positive. Rest on that. Because it mean, it’s speaking truth, the truth. Right. And the power? Yeah. Yeah. And I that’s a good thing that, I think and for whatever they’re gonna come out of with this weekend, Jim, once he’s gone, Jim’s gonna say I told you.
8Bob Kravitz 12:05
Absolutely. No. Snyder’s gotta go. I mean, he’s a pox on the league. He’s, he’s a cancer on the league, and he’s gotta go. Well,
Nestor Aparicio 12:12
how’s the thanks in Indianapolis, anything else going on out there?
Bob Kravitz 12:16
In the space of 72 hours, number one rated Purdue basketball got beat. And the next day IU basketball, a big no show against Miami got beat. And then 24 hours later, the IU women’s team, which is having a historic season number one seed and they got beat by the University of Miami, on their home floor in Bloomington. So it’s it’s been a very depressing couple of sports weekends in a row. But, you know, a Lamar Jackson signing I think would change the general tenor of the of the of the city.
Nestor Aparicio 12:59
8Well, that’s why I reached to you because I think there are very few seats left for Lamar now, right? Like we’re getting to this point where like, it’s either going to happen here, and they’re going to figure it out or it’s not and if and who will be the suitor. So you’ve been a wealth of information, as always, Kravitz, I appreciate you and I’m sorry. They don’t let me come to the Combine anymore. So I don’t get to come to Indianapolis once a
Bob Kravitz 13:24
year. I’ll have a beer for you. I bet you will
Nestor Aparicio 13:28
appreciate you Bob Kravitz you find him out on the Twitter thing and find them anywhere great sports journalism has served he’s been serving and out in Indiana, Indiana for a long, long time and we’ll keep our eye on the Lamar Athan around here Luke is in Owings Mills and I am next we are wn st am 1570, Towson Baltimore. And we never stop talking Baltimore positive
