At 4PM today the NFL’s new league year begins and that will signal the bell – the moment when teams can submit an offer sheet to Lamar Jackson. And it can’t come soon enough.
This entire laborious journey has been painful for all involved, fans included. Somewhere along the way, the enthusiastic and boyish charm of a player who once exhibited such joy whenever he stepped on a football field, and even when standing at the podium, has vanished. Instead of eyes that at one time appeared as bright beacons into the soul of a young man who carried an unabashed zest for life, we now see a somber player with sunken eyes with body language that suggests that he’s carrying the weight of the world on his back and sore knee.