Lamar Jackson disputes columnist’s claim he falls asleep in team meetings

Lamar Jackson is expected to make his return from a back injury on Sunday when the Baltimore Ravens take on the Pittsburgh Steelers with the AFC North division title on the line.

But before facing the Steelers, the 2-time NFL MVP first confronted accusations from The Baltimore Sun‘s Mike Preston regarding his professional behavior.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Jackson denied Preston’s claim that he falls asleep in team meetings. He also dismissed the column as “noise,” while maintaining that he has a strong relationship with Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.

“Do you think Harbaugh would let me fall asleep in his meetings?” Jackson said. “That’s crazy. I’m right in the front. I don’t know. It is what it is though. It’s just noise.”

“I don’t know where the noise came from,” he later added regarding his relationship with Harbaugh.

The 2015 Heisman Trophy winner also denied Preston’s claim that he has a habit of staying up late playing video games, stating that’s not even something he does during the offseason.

“I don’t even do that during the summer,” he said. “So I don’t know where that comes from either.”

Despite Jackson’s denial, the column remains notable, as Preston is a longtime writer for Baltimore’s paper of record. As Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio pointed out, the biggest questions here are where the columnist obtained his information and whether it was shared with the intent of preparing the Ravens fanbase for a potential offseason move.

To that end, Jackson insisted on multiple occasions throughout Thursday’s media availability that he is “absolutely” happy in Baltimore. But with just two years remaining on his current contract after this season, those questions will persist until he signs an extension — especially if the Ravens’ season comes to an end at the hands of the Steelers on Sunday.