If September starts well for the Ravens, they’ll likely look back at April as what got a good thing rolling.

It seems as though the football calendar never ends these days — general manager Eric DeCosta closed his draft comments this weekend remembering that the team signed linebacker Justin Houston last July early in training camp. The roster tinkering never ends. This year, post-draft, the Ravens still have a few holes to fill in. But there was a sense this weekend that DeCosta and his staff finally can take a breather.

“I think we would all say we’re pretty tired, but it’s a good tired,” he said Saturday as the draft was winding down. “You know there’s a bad tired and a good tired. This is a good tired.”

The last month has been a marathon: Exhausting, but plenty of progress.

At the beginning of April, DeCosta, John Harbaugh and the Ravens were caught under the unrelenting glare of the NFL spotlight, as tensions with Lamar Jackson seemingly approached nuclear levels after he made his trade demand public. The holdup with Jackson had stunted the team’s efforts to build out other areas of the roster, too. How could it not?

Jackson’s public expressions of dissatisfaction led to the kind of attention that no NFL team want, especially the Ravens, who strive to keep such disputes in house. Fans and media alike were reading tweets like tea leaves, wondering if this gif or that emoji was any kind of sign that the ice was thawing. Jackson’s inscrutability and tight circle added to the sense of uncertainty. It wasn’t clear anyone, including team officials, knew what was going on.

The Ravens played it cool throughout, with Harbaugh remaining stoic even when Jackson all but ambushed him at the owners’ meetings last month. He had tried to kick off a retooling of his offense under coordinator Todd Monken without a sure sense of who would be taking snaps under center.

The moment Harbaugh was allowed to drop his poker face on Thursday night, his obvious relief shone through.

“He [Monken] seemed pretty happy,” Harbaugh said. “He better be happy!”

The timing was critical: Not getting Jackson’s situation resolved would have introduced festering resentments into the summer, and the longer each side waited, the less likely resolution would seem. Having Jackson locked in also shaped the team’s biggest draft decisions. Without getting it done before the draft, would the Ravens even have drafted Zay Flowers in the first round? It seems unlikely.

Draft weekend is often a back-slapping time for every NFL franchise to feel breezy and hopeful, but even more so for DeCosta and crew. They achieved their biggest goals of the offseason: Jackson’s deal is secure; the receiving room is filled out with a mixture of experience and exciting first-round talent; they added depth along the offensive line and linebacking corps.

That isn’t to say the work is done. Looking down the list, there’s a few glaring items:

• The cornerback position is still uncertain, especially at the spot opposite Marlon Humphrey. The Ravens surprised at least a few draft analysts by waiting five rounds to snatch up Stanford’s Kyu Blu Kelly, not widely considered a Day 1 starting candidate. Now that the Ravens have waited this long to pick up a free agent, there are limited options — seemingly making a reunion with Marcus Peters the best of the available plug-ins. The Ravens need competent defensive backs as the AFC continues to load up on or develop elite quarterback talent.
• The franchise quarterback is locked down, but you have to protect him. Left guard is an obvious hole. Returner Ben Cleveland might be the best available in-house candidate with John Simpson (from last season’s practice squad) pushing him, but neither has yet shined in his NFL career.
• Tyler Huntley is in as the backup quarterback, but the franchise’s reported sniffing at Baker Mayfield and Jacoby Brissett doesn’t smack of confidence in the fourth-year signal-caller. He was less than spectacular (in an admittedly difficult circumstance) when stepping in for an injured Jackson at the end of last season, and tendinitis in his throwing shoulder isn’t ideal. Are the Ravens comfortable with Huntley as the answer if Jackson gets banged up again?

But the common thread between all of these remaining questions: They’re all small potatoes. Champagne problems. The front office will be back in the office cracking at them on Monday, but they’re hardly casting a dark cloud over the coming season.

Looking back on April, DeCosta called it a “whirlwind” of emotions, giving himself a moment to take stock of how much was packed into the month. They are accomplishments that will continue to pay dividends once you consider what could have happened if the Ravens and Jackson hadn’t resolved the stalemate before the offseason’s marquee event.

Instead of continued speculation whether Jackson might hold out, sooner or later, he’ll be sitting at a press conference table with his head coach and GM, smiles all around.

Back to business. Back to football. Just the way the Ravens like it.

kyle.goon@thebaltimorebanner.com