Atlanta Falcons clearly owed an apology after Lamar signs with Ravens

A large part of the Atlanta Falcons off-season was spent taking shots from a myriad of pundits who couldn't understand why Atlanta wasn't chasing Lamar Jackson. Atlanta became an easy target for failing to go after an MVP who anyone that bothered to do their homework knew was never leaving Baltimore in the first place.

The Ravens franchise tagged Lamar buying themselves more time and the ability to match any deal that other teams offered the quarterback. Refusing to negotiate with Lamar isn't about not wanting Jackson but refusing to do Baltimore's work for them.

Despite this site and many others pointing out these obvious issues Atlanta remained an easy target with some shows going so far as to say Atlanta didn't care about winning.

All of this criticism slowed as the news cycle turned towards the draft and the NBA playoffs before Lamar's massive extension with the Baltimore Ravens was announced. The Atlanta Falcons, Terry Fontenot, and Desmond Ridder are all owed an apology. Consistently called out early in the off-season the Falcons clearly knew Jackson wasn't going to leave Baltimore and focused their attention on building a complete roster instead of chasing a player they would never have a shot at acquiring.

Jackson signed a five-year deal worth $260 million in a deal that has been long overdue from Baltimore. It was clear from the start that Lamar Jackson was never leaving a franchise that has its entire offense built around his play style.

Missed in all the shots that were fired Atlanta's way are the moves the team made to improve while the majority of Atlanta's headlines were discussing the team's "failure" to chase a player who was clearly staying with the Ravens.

The Lamar Jackson story is one that will quickly be forgotten but remains one that Atlanta is deserving of an apology with Fontenot and Smith clearly knowing Lamar was never an option.