Steve Young rips Ravens for holding Lamar Jackson back

Nov 19, 2018; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Steve Young on the ESPN Monday Night Football set at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Steve Young is one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, and the Hall of Famer thinks Lamar Jackson could be much, much better than him if the Baltimore Ravens maximized their former MVP’s abilities.

Young spoke about Jackson’s contract situation during a special Thursday edition of ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown.” He was highly critical of the Ravens for not properly developing Jackson as a passer.

“They will never get to championship football without a sophisticated passing game. That has nothing to do with Lamar Jackson,” Young said. “Lamar Jackson is a complete player that is not being trained in being a sophisticated passer. … Now you ask why isn’t he getting paid to be Patrick Mahomes? Because they haven’t given him a chance to be Patrick Mahomes.”

Young, who was an incredible scrambler during his NFL career, said the Ravens are focused too much on their running game and having Jackson make plays with his legs. He thinks Jackson would have the potential to be one of the best players in league history if Baltimore implemented a sophisticated passing game.

“Lamar Jackson’s damned because of what the Ravens are doing, not because of Lamar Jackson. I can’t wait for someone to train Lamar Jackson in a sophisticated passing game,” Young added. “I think he’d be the greatest player in the history of the game. He’s being held back by the Ravens year after year because they keep doubling down to this thing that Lamar Jackson is great at (running). He’s the best at that. That’s not what they need to play championship football.”

You can hear the full comments below:

Steve Young: "@Lj_era8 can be the greatest player in the history of the game." – if the Ravens develop their passing offense.pic.twitter.com/SESBr4Qjw5

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 19, 2022

Young may have gone a bit too far with his Jackson praise, but you get the point he was trying to make. The biggest knock on Jackson is that he is not a great passer and can be inaccurate at times. Young and many others believe the Ravens have not focused enough on putting him in situations where he can stand in the pocket and make throws.

Jackson has been negotiating a contract extension with the Ravens. He obviously is aiming to become the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL. One ESPN personality thinks Jackson should refuse to play in Week 1 if he does not have a new deal.