{"id":829420,"date":"2026-07-28T16:36:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T16:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/829420\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T16:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T16:36:09","slug":"lamar-jackson-sends-pick-your-poison-warning-to-nfl-defenses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/829420\/","title":{"rendered":"Lamar Jackson sends \u2018pick your poison\u2019 warning to NFL defenses"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>July 28, 2026, 11:24 a.m. ET<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ravenswire.usatoday.com\/search\/?q=Lamar+Jackson+\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Lamar Jackson<\/a> spent the beginning of his NFL career answering questions about whether he could succeed as a passer. The criticism has moved in the opposite direction as he enters his ninth season. After Jackson finished 2025 with career lows of 349 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, questions have surfaced about whether the <a data-autotag=\"6f9d8950-4e8a-4277-ba96-ee5ce9eb842e\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/baltimore-ravens\/366\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Baltimore Ravens<\/a> quarterback remains the same threat as a runner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Jackson finds the reversal amusing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cEarly on in my career, it was, \u2018He can\u2019t throw. He\u2019s a running back,\u2019\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/3_vxGcI2Hf4?si=PXN0xEJRHomza4b2\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jackson said on \u201cThe Lounge\u201d podcast.<\/a> \u201cNow it\u2019s, \u2018He\u2019s not running enough.\u2019 It\u2019s pick your poison.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Injuries affected Jackson during a season in which he missed four games and made only 13 starts. His rushing volume also reflected an approach centered on taking what defenses gave rather than forcing himself to scramble.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cI\u2019m the type of player you\u2019ve got to pick your poison,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cI\u2019m approaching defenses with whatever they give me. I\u2019m going to take that. I\u2019m trying to score. I\u2019m trying to move the ball down the field.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Expert NFL picks: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":body nav (nfl)|e|auto spike click:5|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_sp_a\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/picks\">Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Jackson\u2019s ability to escape pressure and turn broken plays into significant gains remains one of the attributes that separates him from other quarterbacks. He does not believe proving he can still run requires abandoning sound decisions or creating unnecessary contact.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cIf I don\u2019t have to run, I\u2019m not going to run,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to force anything. I\u2019m trying to win, so you\u2019ve got to use your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Jackson reported for training camp feeling healthier and in better condition after adding boxing to his offseason workouts. That preparation should help him regain some of the explosiveness that injuries limited last season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Baltimore would benefit from a more productive rushing season by Jackson, but his remarks indicate the offense will continue to allow game situations to determine his usage. Opponents must account for his legs regardless of how frequently he uses them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"July 28, 2026, 11:24 a.m. ET Lamar Jackson spent the beginning of his NFL career answering questions about&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":829421,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[202558,64,63,593,320349,85,266505,266506,203469,203486,263550,203146,203142,203149,202991,203139,202561],"class_list":["post-829420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-accessfree","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nfl","tag-sourceravens-wire","tag-sports","tag-sstssportsnflravens","tag-sstsnravens","tag-tagamerican-football","tag-tagbaltimore-ravens","tag-taglamar-jackson","tag-tagnational-sports","tag-tagnfl","tag-tagnfl-hub","tag-tagoverall-negative","tag-tagsports-news","tag-typestory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=829420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/829421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=829420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=829420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=829420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}