Lamar Jackson is looking svelte and had a pragmatic reason for wanting to rebuild his body: breakaway speed.
The Ravens quarterback, 27, sat down with CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones this week and talked about what drove him to lose 25 pounds this offseason.
Jackson was listed as heavy as 220 pounds in 2022.
“I was fat, to me,” Jackson said. “I feel like I was fat. I just saw a video from two years ago [against] the Browns. I looked like out of shape. But I was in shape.”
Jones asked him if he felt or looked slower when he ran.
“Well, my eyes might be deceiving me, but I believed I looked a little slower, to me, but not now,” Jackson said.
It’s not as if Jackson was a slouch last season — he won his second-career MVP, and threw 24 touchdowns (with just seven interceptions) and rushed for 821 yards on 5.5 yards per carry.
Asked why he decided to “slim down”, Jackson answered, “Just so I could move around without getting fatigued, that’s all. I don’t know if I was getting fatigued last year, probably if I get a first down, but I don’t like getting caught if I do decide to run, so yeah that’s part of it.”
Jackson disputed the idea that he is slowing down due to the natural aging process.
“No, not at all. I’m only 27. I’m still young!” he said.
“I believe I looked a little slower to me but…NOT NOW.”
– Lamar Jackson believes 2 years ago he looked out of shape but he doesn’t feel that way anymore after slimming down this offseason 💪
🎤: @jjones9 pic.twitter.com/eJKorbJRIP
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) August 6, 2024
“It definitely don’t have anything to do with age.”
The Ravens are +1000 to win the Super Bowl this season, according to the latest odds on FanDuel.
The only teams opening the season with better odds are the defending-champion Chiefs and NFC-champion 49ers, who are both +600.
