The truth behind Lamar Jackson-Washington Commanders rumors

Several teams ready to sign Lamar Jackson if he and the Ravens can’t get a deal done. Are the Washington Commanders seriously in the mix?

The ongoing contract stalemate between Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens is not a joke. There’s nothing inherently funny about a franchise quarterback impatiently waiting to get his bag, or about a franchise on the verge of falling apart if Jackson decides he wants to be traded this offseason.

But it doesn’t hurt to have a little fun every now and then, and that’s exactly what ESPN’s Adam Schefter was aiming to do during Friday’s live podcast taping of Barstool Sports’ podcast, “Pardon My Take.”

“Pardon My Take” hosts Big Cat and PFT were ready to dig into the latest news in the NFL when Schefter interrupted the conversation, looking startled at a new text message on his phone.

PFT jokingly said, “Announce Lamar Jackson to the Commanders,” to which Schefter raises an eyebrow and slides his phone over to the hosts who read the text that presumably contained a breaking news story.

Yes, Lamar Jackson was in fact getting traded to the Washington Commanders as Schefter announced Jackson and the Commanders agreeing to a new deal.

Was it too good to be true? Absolutely. The entire bit was later revealed to be an elaborate prank by Schefter. Who knew he had a few tricks up his sleeve?

Adam Schefter sends Lamar Jackson to the Commanders in an elaborate prank on Barstool Sports hosts

It’s good that Schefter has established himself as one of the nation’s most reliable NFL reporters because acting is definitely not in his future. The long-time ESPN insider was pulling the noses of Big Cat and PFT for cheap entertainment, and for all we know, everybody was just playing along.

There hasn’t been one single rumor about Jackson being linked to the Washington Commanders so far this offseason; had Jackson’s fake destination been the Atlanta Falcons or New York Jets, that would have been much more believable.

In his hilarious response, PFT accused Schefter of giving him Carson Wentz last year, referring to Wentz’s trade to Washington that culminated in more failure for the now-disgraced quarterback.

Barstool Sports’ hosts will continue dreaming of a Lamar Jackson-Commanders trade that, barring some insane time-warping twist in the universe, will never happen.

The Commanders have 2022 fifth-rounder Sam Howell at the top of their QB depth chart for now, a less than desirable option who played just one game for Washington last season. The franchise may make a move for another quarterback this offseason, but it won’t be Lamar Jackson, who’s in all likelihood getting franchise-tagged by Baltimore.

Sorry, Washington fans. There’s always next year.