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Michael Vick has advice for Ravens QB Lamar Jackson: 'Proceed with caution'

With Joe Flacco uncertain to start for the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, the job of carrying the offense will fall on rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson. And Michael Vick thinks he knows what Jackson may be experiencing as his career ramps up. Vick was the quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons from 2001 to 2006, and loved to use his legs to move the ball — just like Jackson. And with the Ravens headed to Atlanta to face the Falcons, Vick talked to ESPN about the advice he has for one of the NFL’s most intriguing new players.

“Proceed with caution”

When Vick spoke to ESPN about Jackson, those were his words. He wanted Jackson to know that running the ball can have its drawbacks.

“With quarterbacks, we’re not used to getting hit all the time,” Vick told ESPN on Tuesday. “When we do it, it can either get you into the game or it can shake you up a little bit. It’s not like a guy sitting in the pocket, you run the risk of getting injured. I’m not saying that should deter Lamar or scare him; I’m just saying proceed with caution.”

With caution in mind, Vick told ESPN that he thinks the perfect number of runs for Jackson would be 10 or 12 per game. Jackson far surpassed that in his first start, which came on Nov. 18 against the Oakland Raiders. He ran the ball 26 times for 119 yards in that game, but settled into a more Vick-approved lane in his second start with 11 runs for 71 yards as Baltimore tried to get Jackson to pass more. The Ravens won both of those games.

Lamar Jackson is expected to get another start with the Ravens. (AP Photo)
Lamar Jackson is expected to get another start with the Ravens. (AP Photo)

Vick thinks Jackson could run his way into history

Vick believes that Jackson is more similar to him than to any other quarterback. The now-retired 38-year-old is in the record books for rushing yards with 6,109 on 873 runs. He was the first quarterback ever to surpass 6,000 rushing yards. Vick obviously sees a lot of himself in Jackson’s game, which is why he’s telling him to pace himself, because Jackson won’t be 21 forever.

“Later on in my career, I did feel it more,” said Vick, who is now the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Legends of the Alliance of American Football. “It took a longer time for my legs to come back. Six-thousand yards are a lot, but I’m in the record books.”

But after seeing Jackson’s first two starts, Vick thinks there’s an excellent chance Jackson could eventually surpass him. And Vick is more than OK with that.

“It will take a lot,” Vick said. “It will take a season where he rushes for 1,000 yards. It’ll take a season where he breaks an overtime run for 65 yards. All records are made to be broken.”

Jackson may not be the first to get there. Vick told ESPN that he’s noticed that Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is at 4,737 career rushing yards. That’s just over 1,300 yards behind Vick. Newton is in his eighth season in the NFL, and in Vick’s eighth season, he had rushed for 4,630. That’s pretty even, and if Newton stays healthy and in the game, he’s got a great chance to climb atop that leaderboard.

As Vick said, records are made to be broken. Newton might set a new record, but maybe we’ll see Jackson break it.

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Liz Roscher is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter at @lizroscher.

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