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Jones had an ANY/A of 5.89 last season, a career high. He was very good at protecting the ball, though, and had a high completion percentage. So that made him maybe average in the league as a starter.
They had to do this. And the scarcity of even competent QBs is what drove the price.
What does that mean for Jackson? A career-low ANY/A of 6.05 last year. Lower completion percentage, not terrible at protecting the ball. And then you have the running game dimension.
Some anger that he didn't play hurt in the playoffs. And probably good faith efforts to work out a long-term deal the last two years.
He has to know by now that he's not his own best agent. And that's simply because returning phone calls and not having it be personal are requirements for the job. Good agents are crazy people who can carry on six conversations at once and have absolutely no time to themselves.
If bridges really are burned (and that shouldn't be the case here, but you never know with people), Jackson should call their bluff by hiring an agent. This contract has to be creative enough that Baltimore cannot match it. I don't know how the matching rules work, but surely they can find something simple as an incentive or even a part of the basic compensation that uniquely penalizes Baltimore.
On the other hand, perhaps they want to move on. Heavy-running quarterbacks have a career path that looks more like a running back's than a quarterback's.
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