Baltimore Ravens Present Pope Francis Custom Jersey Signed by Lamar Jackson

Pope Francis can now cheer for the Baltimore Ravens as he now has his own jersey. The Roman [...]

By Brian Jones

Pope Francis can now cheer for the Baltimore Ravens as he now has his own jersey. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore is in Rome to visit Pope Francis, and when Archbishop of Baltimore, William Edward Lori, met the Pope, he presented him with a gift which was a custom Ravens No. 8 jersey signed by quarterback Lamar Jackson and head coach John Harbaugh.

Naturally, the Twitter world had a lot to say about this with many taking to the comments section of the social network to share their thoughts on the unconventional share.

"It's funny he gave him Lamar Jackson's number. He must want him to bless it. This kids already blessed," one fan wrote.

Another person wants to see Pope Francis wear the jersey. "Purple is the liturgical color for the season of Advent. This jersey would probably be fine to wear when celebrating Mass in December," they wrote.

Another Ravens fan is not sure if he wants Pope Francis on board. "The pope just hopping on the Ravens bandwagon [shake my head]. [Just kidding], at least I know another Ravens fan in Rome other than me," they wrote.

If there is one NFL team Pope Francis should be cheering for, it's probably the Ravens based on the way they have played all season long. The team is 10-2 and they would be the No. 1 seed in the AFC if the playoffs started today. Additionally, Jackson is a big reason for their success and has thrown for 2,532 yards and 25 touchdowns while rushing for 977 yards and seven touchdowns.

Jackson is getting all the Pro Bowl votes and he's considered a leading candidate to win the MVP award. He was drafted by the Ravens in the first round last year and Lance Zierlein of NFL.com gave an interesting evaluation of him.

"Evaluating Jackson against the NFL standards for the position will cause him to come up short. However, he has rare speed and athleticism and can single-handedly win games," Zierlein wrote. "Jackson's accuracy is clearly spotty and teams must decide the level of accuracy they are willing to live with relative to his ability to create explosive plays. Jackson may need to operate in an offense ready to integrate RPOs (run/pass options) along with heavy play-action."

If Jackson can stay healthy, he could have a legendary NFL career because the way he plays is hard to defend. It will be interesting to see what he does in the playoffs.

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