As is the case for all of the races on the Triple Crown, many stars were in attendance at the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore on Saturday.
Included in the group was Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was seen rocking a pink suit and stylish hat at the event.
Now, Seize the Grey will look to get another win at the Belmont Stakes in just a few weeks at Saratoga Race Course.
As for Jackson, he’ll look to implement some of the speed he saw on display on Saturday as he gears up for his seventh NFL season.
Jackson is coming off an MVP-winning season that saw him collect 3,678 passing yards and 24 touchdowns. He also picked up 821 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the ground.
Jackson and the Ravens came up just short of reaching the Super Bowl for the first time since 2012 after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship, but they’re looking to bounce back with a big season in 2024.
League sources confirmed to The Athletic that national scout David Whittington is leaving the organization to become assistant director of college scouting for Carolina, Commanders’ college scout Harrison Ritcher is joining the Atlanta Falcons as a national scout, and San Francisco 49ers scout Jack Quagliarello is headed to Washington as a pro scout.
Staff movement is common following the draft, but it becomes more likely with new people in charge. The hiring of general manager Adam Peters and assistant GM Lance Newmark in January set the stage for these changes, including movement in the scouting department.
“I would say that we found out a lot about the process,” Peters said ahead of last month’s NFL draft. “And it’ll really be good to implement all the things we learned from what was existing here, what Lance did in Detroit, and what I did in San Francisco, and blend all that together as we move forward for the next, and just make every year even better.”
Baltimore promoted the up-and-coming Blackburn to director of college scouting in 2022, following two years as a national scout. Blackburn joined the Ravens organization in 2007 as a player personnel assistant and spent seven years as a West area scout.
Stokes came to Washington in 2020 under ex-Commanders head coach Ron Rivera after previously working with the Carolina Panthers. The future of other football executives was part of discussions with league sources throughout the offseason. Former Indianapolis Colts GM Chris Polian arrived as Washington’s director of pro personnel in 2021. Senior VP of football administration Rob Rogers and director of college scouting Tim Gribble are also holdovers from the prior staff.
The Athletic previously reported that, in addition to Stokes, Washington would not renew the contract of senior director of player development Malcolm Blacken. Peters retained Martin Mayhew, a former 49ers front office colleague and Washington’s GM from 2021 to 2023, as senior personnel executive and advisor to the GM. In April, the Commanders hired Dave Gardi away from the league office as the team’s senior vice president of football initiatives. Gardi held the role of NFL’s senior vice president of football operations for 10 years.
