Baltimore writer calls out Lamar Jackson for late-night video games, falling asleep in Ravens meetings

Billy Heyen

•
Baltimore writer calls out Lamar Jackson for late-night video games, falling asleep in Ravens meetings image

The Baltimore Ravens haven't had the season they would've envisioned. They've gone from Super Bowl favorites to almost certainly missing the playoffs.

The question has become: How much is Lamar Jackson to blame?

He hasn't been as healthy as usual. Is that his fault?

He hasn't been as good on the field, either. How much is that on him?

The Baltimore Sun's veteran columnist Mike Preston has pinned a lot of this on Jackson.

"The breakdown of an NFL player’s body is natural, but Jackson could help himself," Preston wrote in a column on Christmas Eve. "He doesn’t need to be up late at night playing video games or falling asleep in team meetings. He needs to train more around The Castle instead of only attending mandatory minicamps, where he disappears after one day."

MORE: The Giants, the Raiders, the NFL Draft order and the Disgrace of Gijon

Preston adds that the Ravens' rules aren't all created equal.

"A major problem, a lot of it on the Ravens, is that there are team rules and then there are rules for Jackson," Preston writes. "That’s why Baltimore practices in the heat of the afternoon instead of in the morning."

That's not all.

"Once the Ravens become critical of Jackson, he becomes more withdrawn," Preston writes. "It’s a shame because Jackson isn’t a mean-spirited person, just an overgrown kid in an adult’s body."

Jackson is a two-time MVP, but he has just a 3-5 record in his career in the playoffs.

His contract is about to become a problem, with a $74.5 million cap hit set for 2026 if it doesn't get restructured (which it surely will).

Jackson and the Ravens seem to go hand in hand, but at some point, a change is coming. It may be sooner than you'd think.

More NFL news:

Contributing Writer