Nestor Aparicio joins his longtime pal J.T. The Brick in Las Vegas to discuss the odds on Lamar Jackson departing and the circumstances regarding this unique offseason for the Ravens
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
lamar, quarterback, ravens, lamar jackson, playing, agent, years, brick, money, guaranteed, franchise tag, john harbaugh, mark ingram, eric, drafted, franchise, run, baltimore, ray lewis, concert
J.T. The Brick 00:00
Nestor Aparicio, my longtime friend, a great sports talk host all over the world and especially based out of Baltimore when that’s we’re talking about Lamar Jackson, let’s jump right in. Is it feasible that he’s not going to be back at Owings mill there at the facility? And that maybe ownership and the GM don’t want him there anymore because he’s turning into a headache
Nestor Aparicio 00:21
Well, he’s no Brock Purdy at this point. He’s not playing football this weekend. Right. So good to have you as always, man. And yeah, it’s the most interesting offseason here ever right? I mean, I’ve been on the radio here since before the Ravens existed. So I’ve been through the quarterback issues of Jeff Blake and Stoney case and Scott Mitchell. And remember, we didn’t have a quarterback here right. Then Flacco comes along and he’s good but he’s not good enough. He just you know, one playoff games on the road five years in a row and won a Super Bowl put the ball Lee Evans stands before Billy can dismiss the kick. Right. So and but the Lamar thing is fascinating because this franchise has never lost the player it’s wanted to keep for real. I think they wanted to keep CJ Mosley a couple years ago, they would have loved to have kept Jared Johnson a decade ago, but they don’t lose players here. You know, they they keep their own. I mean, low Quan Smith with your five minutes a game $100 million, right? So this is if he goes it’s because they want him to go or they believe that it’s okay if he goes because they believe they were going to win. Three out of the next six Super Bowls with him. I think that they would just pony up $233 million of guaranteed money. I think on the inside. They’ve had enough I think they’re exasperated with him holding up signs saying pay me in on national television and putting WTF out on draft night when they traded his wide receiver Hollywood Brown and they knew he knew they told him he was being traded because Hollywood Brown asked to be traded. And again, this is a franchise that no one ever asked out of your brand. Pete This is a place people wanted to come to. This is a place where Steve Smith, Chris Canty Anquan Boldin, Trevor price just go through the list of guys, let alone Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis and Lodi now the guys that were that were were drafted into this. This was a place where people wanted to play and a place they wanted to be. And now all of a sudden in this generation since Aziz gone, Orlando brown wanted out. He’s playing this weekend. Hayden Hurst first round draft pick, asked for a trade. He’s playing this weekend. Wink Martindale was almost playing this weekend, right? I mean, they weren’t as good as the Eagles. But there there has been a real Exodus here. And you know, John Harbaugh was the king of all things ravens, Eric, I think is still feeling his way as the General Manager even though he’s been here for 30 years. But this contract negotiation with a player who doesn’t have an agent, I mean, brick, you’ve been at this a long time. And Lamar Jackson, not having an agent did him no favors over the last seven, eight weeks, when the team position as injury. And a couple of years ago when Mark Ingram was here, they had this thing called a trust, big trust, big trust AT T shirts, their slogan it was, it was their thing. The year they were 14 and two, and Mark Ingram laughed. We haven’t heard big trust around here in three years and that the word ter USS really meant trust, it meant trust. And I don’t see trust between Lamar Jackson, his agent who also happens to be more Jackson and Eric Acosta and John Harbaugh certainly seems shoddy involved in this. I mean, Greg Romans fired now. I mean, he was he was great offensive coordinator when they were eight and three and eight and for the last couple of years, right. It’s just been a curious time for the ravens and they’ve won two playoff games brick, since they won the Super Bowl 10 years ago next week. They’ve won two playoff games in seven years. So this isn’t in the Cincinnati Bengals are coming on strong. I think you can see. So this is a tough time for them. And this is a tough negotiation. But I think you’ll deal tomorrow and I think they’ll get drastic because I don’t think they’ll be the highest bidder for Lamar,
J.T. The Brick 04:03
Nestor. Aparicio joins us wn S T is on station. He owns it, his great career. So let me jump in with you on that. Because I think that the franchise tag was invented for just this. Well, you don’t want to give them 240 million guaranteed you don’t you’d like to sign up for something less and get it long term. But if you can’t you just tag them. And it doesn’t seem because his mom’s his agent or the way he’s been behaving like you said, and I wanted Raider fans to hear this. I don’t think he would act very kindly to a franchise tag. I’m talking about a holdout, a guy who would just be freaking out if he knew that he wasn’t going to get over 200 million in complete control of that negotiation. So Are you sensing the franchise tag and Baltimore’s not going to come?
Nestor Aparicio 04:46
No, I don’t Yeah, I think it’ll come. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, 1,000,000% He’ll get franchise and then he’s gonna get down. Now what kind of franchise tag they put on him, whether it’s two number ones, and they reserve the right to match whatever whacking team is out there, you know, break at the heart of all of this is really the owners, right? It’s the oligarchs of the league, because this was really about Jimmy Haslam getting out of line and Cleveland, in that wild bidding war last year that, you know, cost the Atlanta Falcons their relationship with Matt Ryan, right. I mean, Panthers still don’t have a quarterback saints don’t have a court. So these other teams that went crazy last year, now you tack on to that, that you may be adding Houston Nashville, Tampa. So Tom Brady was searching for places for his kids that in Miami. I mean, there’s a lot of places without quarterbacks. And there’s and there’s, there’s a lot of heat on Lamar. And that being said, an owner, an owner of a franchise, some Daniel Snyder type has to get involved here to guarantee 200 $250 million dollars. And when that owner gets involved, they’re gonna get sideways with the other owners who don’t want any guaranteed contracts for anyone not, and certainly giving a guaranteed contract to a guy who hasn’t posted up and played after Thanksgiving the last two years in the prime of his career, and there’s some conjecture that he might have been healthy enough to play last week, right? I mean, the question everyone should ask themselves is all right, they get along last offseason they kiss their nice, Eric gives them $232 million guaranteed money. He comes in, what do you play two weeks ago? And he was under contract? Yes. What do you play? Because it certainly felt like maybe until the point where he released his own tweet as his own agent, saying that he had a level two on the cusp of level three grade sprains. And that goes against everything the Ravens were saying for six weeks. And if he had an agent, and he really had a worst sprain in the beginning, or if he re injured, it really aggravated, he would have had someone to publicly portray this, that that being said, but here’s the interesting part. We can all say, Wow, Lamar, you know, not sophisticated enough to have an agent doesn’t understand he would have had television deals with all these quarterbacks that aren’t as good as him had deals, have TV deals and sponsorship deals, all that extra money that’s been laid out there. But in the end, Lamar has negotiated this thing perfectly right? Like, if he would have gone out there and played hurt and gotten beat two weeks ago, it would have been on his record. He can say I wasn’t hurt the Ravens Ben has to say, well, we love Lamar, because they want to keep value up right. And in the end, in the end, Lamar is going to pick where he goes a little bit like Deshaun Watson, he’s going to get more money than Russell Wilson more money than then then Kyler Murray, maybe less money than Deshaun Watson I’m not too sure about that maybe, but he’s gonna get more money by a lot than Eric the cost and Steve shotty have ever been willing to give him and certainly now that he hasn’t posted in January twice that more money than they’re willing to give him so I think he is much more valuable to the outside world based on his potential and the sizzle on the steak and selling tickets and blah blah blah We love Las Vegas in the strip but we love Miami or his tax situation is also huge and it’s brick you know that right? So playing for a California team getting taxed wouldn’t be like playing in for Florida team and get taxed if you’re really trying to squeeze every nickel out of the deal. And it’s very clear that adult attack this’ll because I talked about this every day all day, you know that? The the Players Association, nobody and the players, the worse was none of these guys, they don’t want the bar taking less money. They don’t want to take any non guaranteed deal. You so there’s just a lot. This is a landmark situation and the Ravens I think are going to negotiate themselves into getting three number one fix and just move and just pivot from Joe Flacco and a whole bunch of Ray Lewis a pivoted from other guys, you know,
J.T. The Brick 08:58
yeah, those pics are really expensive here and Nestor Aparicio was we wrap it up wn S T in Baltimore. All right, so finally, tell our audience why Lamar would be the perfect fit for the Las Vegas Raiders with Davante Adams Darren Waller, Hunter Renfro, Josh Jacobs lead the league in rushing they got a great left tackle, why he would be perfect here or knowing what you’ve said about his mindset. Maybe not playing the way he should have playing hurt not helping out the organization. Would he not be a fit here in Las Vegas as we’re looking for a new quarterback?
Nestor Aparicio 09:29
I think he’ll be a great fit anywhere he goes if he stays healthy, right? I mean, I’m not down on the kid. He’s won a lot of games here. I’m a raving fan. You know what I mean? Like, I do think from the night he was drafted and I get back fine taste to you and me that week, right? He runs into linebackers. This is not this is ill conceived. If you think Lamar Jackson can run the ball 1416 21 times it which he’s done in November, and think that you’re gonna have a quarterback. I’m gonna look at The Chiefs are going through this week with my home. I mean, we’re Oh, everybody had a moment last week with him right with his ankle. It’s a rough sport and they’re all one of one these franchise quarterbacks. So you love them until we can’t play in December. And I would say as much as you love Josh Allen mahomes, any of these elite players, these guys are trying to run in to linebackers and scheming running into linebackers 160 180 200 times a year in addition to sacks and drop back and all the rest of that it’s a punishment issue for me. Brick as much as anything and I think it’s it’s tread on the tire included in that as to what a 29 year old version of Lamar Jackson’s gonna look like, versus what a 29 year old version of any quarterback who doesn’t go out and strategically try to run into linebackers. 1015 20 times. That’s all
J.T. The Brick 10:53
right last thing on music. We go to concerts with friends. We love music. This is the first time in a long time. You know, I went and saw the stones and Liverpool before you and I so everybody was listening. And that’s true. And I were going to Amsterdam I had VIP and I was standing outside Jonas Crump Stadium, where I looked down at my phone and found out my meeting backstage with the band was canceled because the greatest rock frontman of all time, by the way of all time had COVID which I guess he’s never had before and never had since and it canceled our night together at the concert in Amsterdam. I don’t have a concert ticket in front of me. I’m not a Swifty she’s coming to Vegas. This is the longest I’ve gone without looking at my phone or my calendar saying I’m going to see this concert next. What are you going to see next to things
Nestor Aparicio 11:40
Springsteen’s tour begins next Wednesday in Tampa I’ll be there or square I’m gonna see some Bruce. Depeche Mode opened in a torn Sacramento a town I’ve never been to at the end of March. Get a good Chase Springsteen and some places where I haven’t spent a whole lot of time like Austin and yeah, that’s what I you know, everybody went out last year brick everybody, right? So because of the plague everybody went out same time. So this has been sort of that weird winter where nobody’s on the road. But I think it’s gonna ramp back up this summer and I’m looking forward to seeing you out Vegas. Are you on the road somewhere doing something fun man I really appreciate you having me on. We certainly are the center of this. The NFL universe with Lamar because this is a fascinating story all the way around.
J.T. The Brick 12:24 You got a buddy. I’ll talk to him best your wife.
