The Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson requested a trade on Monday. Not long after, rumors began to circulate among NFL general managers, club executives, and owners regarding the possibility of making a trade for the quarterback. While most teams stuck to their positions of not wanting to sign Jackson once the news of the non-exclusive franchise tag broke, Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard had a different attitude.

With clubs like the Washington Commanders and New York Jets seemingly out of the running for Jackson, the Colts figure to be the front-runner if they choose to pursue it.

Colts owner Jim Irsay isn’t interested in giving Jackson a fully guaranteed contract, so the team’s interest isn’t very high. When asked about Jackson, Irsay indicated he would be prepared to give Jackson a lot of money but couldn’t provide him with any sort of guaranteed contract.

It’s unclear what the Colts would offer Jackson via offer sheet, but the situation would certainly heat up given that the Ravens would have five days to counter.

In any case, the Ravens appear prepared to match most offers, and only a historic deal close to a completely guaranteed contract would put Jackson in the uniform of a different club. Only the Cleveland Browns and the Minnesota Vikings have shown any interest in doing this so far.

#Commanders coach Ron Rivera discussing his QB, says he believes Sam Howell has many of the same qualities of Brock Purdy. … As for adding a high-money QB (Lamar Jackson), he says they never looked into it. “I know he’s a tremendous talent.” But it wasn’t for them.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 28, 2023