After five years as starting quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, now Lamar Jackson’s contract is expired, and the former NFL MVP is set for free agency. As you can imagine, if he hits the open market, Jackson would be one of the most sought-after players in NFL history, akin to Reggie White’s free agent campaign at the end of the 1992 season.

Yet, the Ravens aren’t eager to allow the face of the franchise to be allowed to negotiate contracts with other NFL organizations. For a franchise that averaged 23.7 points per game when Jackson starts and just 10.5 PPG when he doesn’t, the dual-threat’s impact is hard to ignore.

But instead of allowing Jackson to actually become a free agent, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has already indicated that the Ravens will be applying the franchise tag to their franchise QB.