HEADLINE

Mornhinweg denies wanting to move Jackson to WR

Field Level Media

November 19, 2019 at 6:18 pm.

Former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg issued a statement through the team Tuesday, denying a claim this week that he wanted to move quarterback Lamar Jackson to wide receiver.

Mornhinweg was the Ravens’ offensive coordinator during Jackson’s rookie season last year when the first-round pick made seven starts at QB while appearing in all 16 games.

On The GM Shuffle podcast episode released Monday, former Cleveland Browns general manager Michael Lombardi said Mornhinweg asked the coaching staff when Jackson was going to be moved to wide receiver.

Mornhinweg strongly denied that he was thinking of a position change for the former Heisman Trophy winner.

“My thoughts before the draft, and even more when we started working with Lamar, was that this young man was going to be a special quarterback,” Mornhinweg said in his statement. “Very early we saw that along with all of his throwing and escape abilities, he reads the field as well as any young quarterback I ever worked with.”

Mornhinweg, who called plays last season, left the Ravens coaching staff after Greg Roman was promoted to offensive coordinator during the offseason.

“Organizationally, we were on the same page with Lamar, and I thought (former general manager) Ozzie (Newsome) and (current general manager) Eric (DeCosta) did a great job to take him where we did,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “Marty was excited from the beginning to coach Lamar and was instrumental in helping him progress through his rookie season.”

Jackson has led the Ravens to an 8-2 record heading into Monday night’s game at Los Angeles against the Rams. He has passed for 2,258 yards and 19 touchdowns this season, while also rushing for 788 yards and six more scores.

The Louisville product threw for four touchdowns Sunday in a victory over the Houston Texans, one off the five TDs he threw in the season opener against the Miami Dolphins. Jackson is the first quarterback in Ravens history to throw four or more TD passes in multiple games during a season.

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