The only thing that’s tougher than tackling Lamar Jackson in the open field is getting him to open up about negotiating for his next contract. Believe me — I’ve tried.
Why didn’t he get an extension done in the offseason with general manager Eric DeCosta? What are the barriers to a deal? Does he want to play this whole season without a new deal in place?
Any way you phrase a question about his contract, Jackson grins and jukes with the same answer: “It’s private between me and the GM.”
Amid the looming cloud that Jackson’s contract situation casts over training camp, however, there are encouraging signs about the quarterback’s investment in a revamped offense led by a revamped coaching staff. Although Jackson keeps thoughts about the most compelling part of his future close to the vest, his football passions are out in plain sight in Owings Mills.
For one thing, Jackson has been at the Castle more often than in years past during the offseason. He came for voluntary workouts. He said new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle is “like a wizard.” He is enticed by the idea of regular meetings with Jesse Minter to see how the head coach views defenses that will try to stop Jackson. “I think that it’s a good idea for me to meet with a defensive-minded coach.”
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Maybe it’s smart to take Jackson’s bubbling enthusiasm for his ninth NFL season with a grain of salt. But, because we’re unlikely to find resolution on his contract extension this fall, we might as well linger on the silver lining. The two-time MVP seems invigorated by Baltimore’s changes — and an invested Jackson is always good for the Ravens’ prospects.
For as much faith as you can put into practices in which the players don’t wear pads, Jackson looked as sharp as anyone could hope on Day 1 of training camp. He zipped passes to Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman, among others, and finished (by the Banner’s unofficial tally in 11-on-11 drills) 7-for-9 on his pass attempts.
On the times he took off on the ground, he was as quick as ever. Maybe even quicker, according to safety Kyle Hamilton.
“I feel like he got faster,” he said, with a bemused expression. “I feel like he ran today really fast.”
Jackson’s miles per hour isn’t the point as much as his pace throughout practice: sharp and taut. It shows he’s on the same pulse as Doyle, who spits out schemes and play calls in an energetic staccato and expects his players to keep up.
Doyle has shown a willingness to coach Jackson hard, calling him out during minicamp for an incorrect execution of a play call — and Jackson has responded well.
“I love that coaching,” Jackson said in June. “I’m a coachable player. Sometimes [Doyle] sees things that I don’t see, and sometimes I see things that he might not have thought of, and it’s great to piggyback off each other. I feel like we need that.”
It’s always on the field where Jackson reminds Baltimore why he is such a gift. Even in the eye-watering summer humidity of training camp, Jackson’s light sense of humor and dazzling skill set bring reassurance that everything is on track.
“When he’s out there and he’s obviously really engaged like he is,” Minter said, “he makes everybody on the field better.”
It’s off-field concerns that put pressure on Jackson’s long-term future with the franchise.
Because he is so guarded and keeps his inner circle so tight, it’s natural to view him and the Ravens as separate entities engaged in a common mission. Jackson’s contract sagas only add to the perception that his own bottom line comes first.
The Ravens hoped to agree to an extension with Jackson (who does not have an agent) in March before free agency that would have kept him in Baltimore long term and given DeCosta more cap space to sign new players to help him on his Super Bowl quest. But the deal never got done, and the team settled for a contract restructure (which does not require Jackson’s consent to execute) that gave it minimal space.
Even before you remember how tortured Jackson’s last contract process was, the most recent episode doesn’t paint the picture of a front office and its most well-paid star tied tightly at the hip.
We can only make educated guesses on how Jackson views the situation, but there’s logic to hanging on to his leverage.
He’s coming off a bad season in which he was injured a lot, and in March he had to decide how long to commit to a coaching staff he hadn’t worked with yet. While going into the second-to-last year of his contract is a risk, if he reasserts himself as an MVP-level player — as he did in 2023 and 2024 — he’ll have greater power to name his price. His $84 million cap hit in 2027 only makes his grip over the franchise stronger.
The contrast between Jackson the Negotiator and Jackson the Teammate is quite stark this summer. The machinations needed to accommodate his contract next season should keep DeCosta up at night this fall. But, if Jackson continues down the path he’s set on the football side, we’ve seen before how high he can push the ceiling of the team when he’s bought in.
Maybe by the end of this odyssey, the Ravens will still have to pony up record-setting dollars — but Jackson will have put together another masterpiece season worthy of the bounty.
The only thing Jackson admitted he saw on social media this offseason was the NFL 100 ranking that put him as the 69th-best player in the league, a steep drop from No. 2 in the 2025 edition.
It is dangerous to underestimate Jackson and make him feel he has something to prove. Although the Ravens have a lot of complexities to navigate with their star quarterback in contract discussions, it’s worth remembering that he is the foundation of their greatest ambitions — the centerpiece to any chance Baltimore has to rebound from last season’s collapse.
Asked whether he’s continuing contract discussions into the season, Jackson’s response was short: “I’m focused on football, like I’ve always been.”
It might ease Ravens fans minds to have the extension put to bed first. But, if Jackson is indeed narrowing his focus to football, that might the best sign for Baltimore’s future.
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