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Lamar Jackson was already one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL before deciding to shed some weight to increase his speed and agility heading into the 2024 campaign, and it turns out he was inspired to slim down thanks to the result of a play from last season that led to him winning an ESPY.
In 2022, Lamar Jackson rolled into training camp after adding 15 pounds of muscle to his frame in the hopes it would make him a bit more resistant to the abuse he endures as a dual-threat quarterback, and by the time the season kicked off, he was tipping the scales at 230 lbs. after playing around 205 lbs. the previous year.
He was closer to 215 lbs. in 2023, but after things wrapped up, he decided to shed some more weight to get back to his previous baseline—a concerted effort he recently revealed stemmed from what unfolded when the Ravens played the Chiefs in the AFC Championship.
In the second quarter of that showdown, Jackson reminded the world why he’s one of the most formidable QBs in the league when Justin Reid tipped a pass attempt before attempting to intercept the ball only for the Ravens superstar to beat him to the punch by snagging the ball out of the air and running more than 15 yards for a first down.
Baltimore ultimately lost the game, but Jackson did win the trophy for “Best Play” at the 2024 ESPYs thanks to his heads-up heroics.
However, Jackson was apparently less than thrilled with how the play in question ultimately ended, as he reflected on what went down during a recent episode of Baltimore’s in-house podcast The Lounge while noting it motivated him to drop some pounds, saying he thinks he could’ve taken it to the house if he’d been a little bit lighter:
“That made me mad. That was supposed to be a touchdown.
The crazy thing about it was I was like, ‘If I catch my own pass with a lane, that’s a touchdown.’ And then it happened. I probably was a little shocked. It was like a movie.
And then I got tripped up, I’m like, ‘C’mon, man.'”
That’s the kind of mentality you want your quarterback to have.