Euphoric Pittsburgh Steelers Fans Take A Break From Own Offseason Worries To Watch The Baltimore Ravens Erupt In Flames

Pittsburgh Steelers fans took a break from attacking each other on Twitter to watch flames erupt in Baltimore. Baltimore Ravens players and fans took to social media to express outrage over some recent comments made by GM Eric DeCosta.

There is already tension in Baltimore surrounding the contract negotiations with the Ravens' QB Lamar Jackson. Both the team and Jackson are disputing the former league MVP's contract extension. Jackson's rookie contract is about to expire and he wants to be paid commensurate with the other top QB's in the league. 

Jackson, who has single-handedly carried the Ravens' offense at times, feels he should be compensated at a higher level. Deshaun Watson got about $50 million a year from the Cleveland Browns and Patrick Mahomes is making about $45 million a year from the Kansas City Chiefs. According to the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Jackson is demanding a similar deal to Watson's - about $50 million a year and fully guaranteed. The guarantee is apparently where they aren't seeing eye to eye. 

Ravens fans are divided about the fate of their quarterback. Some agree he should be making top pay and others want him to take a team-friendly deal. Those fans cite other QB's that have done that including Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady. The big difference there is that those vets already had a shot at top contracts and were on the down slope of their careers. In addition, those teams put that "team-friendly" pay into giving their QB other offensive weapons - such as high-paid wide receivers. 

Pittsburgh Steelers Fans Are Distracted By Venomous Tweets Out Of Baltimore

This is where the new drama in Charm City comes into play. While at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, DeCosta was on The Vault Podcast and was asked about the team's difficulties finding a top-tier wide receiver. DeCosta's answer did not sit well with players and fans:

"If I had an answer, that would probably mean I would have some better receivers. We're gonna keep swinging. There have been some guys that have been successful players for us that were draft picks. We've never really hit on that All-Pro type of guy, which is disappointing, but it's not for a lack of effort."

"It's one of those anomalies that I really can't explain, other than to say that we're not going to stop trying. We're gonna keep swinging and hopefully, at one of these points, we're gonna hit the ball out of the park." 

This led to former players taking to Twitter to defend themselves and their teammates, including WR Rashod Bateman who was a first-round draft pick for Baltimore in 2021. 

Former Ravens running back, Mike Davis, tweeted out his support of Bateman.

"I hate to say it or be that guy .. but being there. bate is 100% right."

Bateman's comments about the organization not taking care of their players also opened old wounds about injury concerns in Baltimore. 

In 2021, the Ravens had a high number of players land on the injured reserve. The NFLPA published report cards for every team and one of the grades was on strength staff. The majority of teams were rated favorably, but two teams did not: Baltimore and Atlanta. They both received F-. According to the NFLPA, the Ravens "were even significantly below" Atlanta. The Ravens have attempted to remedy the situation by firing strength coach Steve Saunders. 

That led to other players coming out on Thursday to share concerns. Former Ravens defensive tackle Carl Davis Jr. tweeted:

"I was def a victim of the strength coaches. Two Labrums and multiple pec strains."

Quincy Adeboyejo, a WR who was drafted by the Ravens in 2017, agreed, retweeting Davis' tweet:

"Definitely ruined my career. 3 year season-ending injuries in a row after being healthy my entire career prior."

"Rookie year training camp I suffered the same knee injury Lamar had this year. I was forced to practice 3 days later because I was a "bubble" guy..they cared less about treating me. Let's just say it's never good when the training room and strength coaches aren't on the same page. They didn't like each other and it showed. Huge disconnect between the two which led to multiple injuries for a lot of guys."

Did you follow along with the turmoil in Baltimore? Does it distract you some? Obviously, no one ever wants to see players suffer injuries, but what do you think about the complaints the players have? What kind of contract do you think Lamar should get? Click to comment below. 

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