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• Lamar Jackson snaps back at social media cynics on injury doubts amid trade saga

  Wantaway Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson snapped back at social media critics claiming he missed last season's playoffs due to wanting a trade.

  Jackson announced earlier this week on social media that he had requested a trade on March 2 following a drawn-out contract stand-off, where Baltimore placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on him earlier this month.

  The two parties endured a similar stand-off last offseason before the QB played out the final year of his rookie contract, only to miss the Ravens' final six games of the season with a sprained left knee.

  The issue had initially been expected to sideline him for only two to three weeks, with Jackson missing the Ravens' postseason 24-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

  Jackson quipped back at suggestions on social media that that absence was due to him sitting out having not agreed on a long-term deal with the Ravens.

  "Let's get real. I rather have a 100% PCL than go out there and play horrible forcing myself to put my guys in a bad situation now that's selfish to me," Jackson tweeted on Tuesday.

  "I don't remember me sitting out on my guys week 1 vs jets To week 12 vs Broncos. How come all of a sudden I sit out because of money in which I could've got hurt at anytime within that time frame when we know the Super Bowl been on my mind since April 2018."

  The 26-year-old QB also explained in a reply to a fan why he did not travel with the Ravens for their AFC Wild Card game in Cincinnati.

  "After I traveled to the Pittsburgh game, my PCL got inflated so a few of us discussed it and I got the OK to stay so I could try [to] recover faster," Jackson tweeted.

  Jackson's revelation of a trade request came amid the NFL's annual league meeting. The Indianapolis Colts are the only team to declare any intention to consider Jackson who represents himself in negotiations.

• Shanahan unsure when Purdy will be ready to play in 2023

  Kyle Shanahan remains unsure when Brock Purdy will return despite San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch expressing optimism the quarterback could be ready for training camp.

  Purdy emerged as one of the stories of the 2022 season, the final pick of last year's draft stepping in after both Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo suffered season-ending injury and winning five successive starts to help the Niners to a 13-4 record and the NFC's second seed. 

  He then won two playoff games before suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow on the first offensive series of San Francisco's NFC Championship Game defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.

  Purdy underwent successful surgery to repair the injury on March 10, with his projected timeline one that would see him resume throwing in three months.

  On Monday, Lynch said he was hopeful Purdy would be back for training camp and described him as the "leader in the clubhouse" in a prospective quarterback competition with 2021 third overall pick Lance.

  Head coach Shanahan painted a more uncertain picture, but appeared relaxed about the Niners' quarterback situation.

  "He won't be able to do anything on the field, for who knows? It could go anywhere from six months to eight months," Shanahan said.

  "So, it's all open like that, and we'll have a better idea … at three months out of surgery, they have a better idea of whether it's going to be six months or eight months. … That's all I know, and I'm pretty good with that.

  "We'll see at three months if he'll be ready for camp, or if not, then perhaps we say it's gonna go slow. It might be Week 1 and, at the latest, Week 4. It's just all estimations, and we'll see what happens."

  Lance, who has started just four games since the 49ers traded three first-round picks to move up and to select him owing in part to the ankle injury he suffered last September, is set to split first-team reps in OTAs and minicamp with another former third overall selection, Sam Darnold. The 49ers signed Darnold to a one-year contract this month.

  "With Brock being hurt, it does open [the job] up, and it does give [Lance] a chance," Shanahan added.

  "I don't know how Brock's going to come back. I don't know exactly when he's going to come back, so I don't have the exact answer for that.

  "But right now, because he is hurt, it is nice to focus on Trey, it is nice to focus on Sam, and see how they do in OTAs and most likely see how they're playing leading us into training camp because I think it will take some time for Brock."

• LaFleur calls for Packers patience as Love aims to replace 'generational talent' Rodgers

  The Green Bay Packers are prepared to be patient as Jordan Love attempts to replace "generational talent" Aaron Rodgers.

  That was the message from Packers coach Matt LaFleur on Tuesday as Rodgers seems set to join the New York Jets.

  The veteran quarterback's trade still needs finalisation from Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst, but LaFleur has already started to envisage life without Rodgers.

  Love, a first-round pick in 2020, has waited three years for his chance and LaFleur acknowledged it will take time for the 24-year-old to develop.

  "[Rodgers' impending trade] is what it is, and at the same time, we're excited about Jordan and how he's been able to progress as a quarterback, how he's matured as a man," LaFleur at the NFL's Annual League Meeting in Phoenix. "It's going to be a different role for him, certainly, and I think we all have to kind of temper our expectations for him.

  "It's different when you're going into a game versus when you're starting a game. It's going to be a process, but it's going to be exciting for him, for us.

  "I don't think any quarterback can truly do it on their own in this league. So it's going to be everybody rallying around him and trying to be at the best of their ability so that he can go out there and perform as good as he possibly can."

  Love has just one career start to his name, for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021, along with two appearances as a replacement.

  Despite calling for the Packers to be patient with Love, LaFleur sees progress in the young quarterback who has had to wait in the wings behind superstar Rodgers.

  "He's come a long way, quite frankly," LaFleur added. "I know there were some times where early on, it's just, you don't know. I still think you have to go out there and you have got to do it consistently.

  "It's one thing to do it in practice. It's another thing to take it to the game field and do it but certainly have seen his performance in practice, his mechanics, his decisions, his timing within the pass game and just his accuracy. I think he's come a long way."

  As for Rodgers' impending trade to the Jets, LaFleur will leave that in the hands of Gutekunst and New York's general manager Joe Douglas as he prepares to work with whatever roster the Packers provide.

  "That's all between Joe and Gutey," he continued. "I'm going to leave that one to them. We'll coach whoever's on our roster.

  "We'll coach them to the best of our ability and we are always going to put the best players out there that are going to give us an opportunity to win football games."