Lamar Jackson and Dan Orlovsky Credit: ESPN
By Sean Keeley on

Things are getting weird with Dan Orlovsky at ESPN, so it’s nice to get a little bit of normalcy from him to balance the sheets.

The NFL analyst has suddenly sparked a lot of conversation ever since he went all-in on the belief that Ty Simpson is a better QB prospect than Fernando Mendoza, who is widely considered the obvious No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft. Pat McAfee and his show took Orlovsky to task over the take and pondered if he was pushing an agenda on behalf of agents, which he denied and later pouted about. As his reputation for digging into questionable takes grew and critics saw the old ESPN playbook resurfacing, Stephen A. Smith took the unusual (and downright weird) step of openly chastising ESPN for not cherishing Orlovsky enough.

With all this drama and tumult, concerns grew that the narrative around Orlovsky might rocket into uncharted territory.

At least on Monday, we were transported back to the safety and sanctity of a space we know well and can take comfort in: Dan Orlovsky criticizing Lamar Jackson.


“This is the start of the second act. This is the start of what should be Lamar’s prime,” said Orlovsky during Get Up, of Jackson’s absence from OTAs. “And I’m not going to overreact to him not being there. Maybe he gets there in the next day or two, but it certainly sounds like that’s not going to be the case.

“And the reality for Lamar and the Ravens is this is the first time it’s new for Lamar in the NFL. He’s had relatively the same staff in place for the majority of his career, certainly when it comes to their head coaching position. Now, new head coach, new offensive coordinator, new staff, and also you’re coming off of the first time that you are a starter in the NFL where you had a losing record. Lamar started 13 games last year. He was 6-7 as the starter. Now, there’s some games, injury, all that, but it’s the first time.

“We’re coming off of a wildly unsuccessful season when it comes to our standards in Baltimore, and now we have a completely new regime. Yeah, I would absolutely want Lamar Jackson there, leading the way, saying, this is my second act. The first act was sensational. 2-time MVP, and some significant success. This is supposed to be the start of something new and that next step.

“I’m not going to react to him not being there because we’ll give him some time, but I want him there.”

So, first, we’ll give Orlovsky a bit of leeway here because this is clearly a “we need a reaction for the sake of a reaction” bit, but we do appreciate the poetry of “I’m not going to react to him not being there… but I want him there.”

But second, and here’s the kicker, Jackson showed up at Ravens OTAs earlier that day. As in, he was already in camp by the time Orlovsky was complaining about him not showing up yet. The team posted a clip of him arriving around the same time as Orlovsky’s segment, suggesting he was already in the building when the NFL analyst chided him for skipping camp.

The clip of Orlovsky’s criticism had been posted to several Get Up social media channels but was deleted soon after.

Later in the show, host Mike Greeberg offered a clarification on the situation, and Orlovsky returned to offer fresh thoughts based on the new information, saying it’s “the most important thing that could have happened up until now for Baltimore. It’s a big deal.”

Orlovsky went on to shower the Ravens quarterback with appreciation for what he’s accomplished so far in his career, though we’re sure the on-screen graphic calling out how Jackson has missed many previous OTA sessions did not go unnoticed by Baltimore fans.

Orlovsky has often been accused of finding a target or grasping at a take and holding on for dear life, despite potential evidence to the contrary. His relationship to Jackson is perhaps the prime example of that narrative. Two seasons ago, he spent a lot of time arguing that Allen deserved the NFL MVP over Jackson, and his insistence ruffled the feathers of many Ravens fans and others. So intense was the negative feedback he’d been receiving that when he called a Ravens game in early January, and the crowd started chanting “M-V-P,” he couldn’t help but think it was partly directed at him. His discussions about Jackson have also led to a lot of name-calling and apologies. Some of Jackson’s teammates have taken Orlovsky to task, and even the QB himself has taken a few shots at the ESPN talking head.

While you can chalk up some of the issues here to bad timing, it will not go unnoticed that the crux of the situation is that Orlovsky lobbed an unnecessary criticism at Jackson, regardless of how it all played out.

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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