Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has no problem making bold statements and he may have done it again Sunday by wearing white sleeves and a glove.
After throwing five touchdown passes in their Week 1 victory over the Dolphins, Jackson stepped up to the postgame podium and said “not bad for a running back.” Multiple times this season Jackson has worn a t-shirt that reads “Nobody Cares Work Harder.” This past Sunday, Jackson wore white sleeves and a white glove while throwing three more touchdown passes during the Ravens victory in Buffalo.
The choice of apparel may have been a coincidence, or it may have been a response to recent comments by 49ers radio analyst Tim Ryan.
Last week, after the Ravens defeated the 49ers and Jackson ran for over 100 yards in the game, former NFL player and current radio analyst Tim Ryan said the quarterback’s dark skin helps him disguise the football when running fake handoff plays.
“He’s really good at that fake, Lamar Jackson, but when you consider his dark skin color with a dark football with a dark uniform, you could not see that thing,” Ryan said while being interviewed on the 49ers flagship radio station, KNBR. “I mean you literally could not see when he was in and out of the mesh point and if you’re a half step slow on him in terms of your vision forget about it, he’s out of the gate.”
With a 10-6 lead over the Bills at halftime, Jackson removed the sleeves for the start of the third quarter. When asked about the choice of apparel after the game, the Ravens quarterback said he wore sleeves in the first half because it was cold and took them off at halftime because he felt hot.
Maybe it was just a coincidence, but the timing of wearing white sleeves and glove could certainly be perceived as a statement. According to Yahoo Sports, Jackson wore sleeves only once last season and they were black, paired with the Ravens white uniform.
Shortly after his comments last week, Tim Ryan apologized and was suspended by the 49ers for one game, but a couple of players came to the broadcaster’s defense. 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman even stated Ryan was making a “great point.”
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.