Kyle Goon: Lamar Jackson is here. He’s needed at Ravens offseason training more than ever.

Editor’s note: Shortly after the initial publication of this column, the Ravens released a video of Lamar Jackson arriving at the team practice facility. This column has been updated.

Trust me, I’d rather be talking about almost anything else.

In the scheme of things, offseason workout attendance is one of the most overblown talking points in sports. It’s the thing we talk about because there’s nothing else going on — I’d rather discuss the merits of the Orioles changing the left field wall distance for a third time.

But despite my reservations about nudging this particular hornet’s nest, I’ll prod anyway. As the Ravens begin offseason training in Owings Mills this week, it’s hugely important to see Lamar Jackson arrive at the facility on Day 1 of what may be the most consequential offseason of his career.

I know, I know. Most years, I don’t think veteran presence at workouts and organized team activities is of much value. But so much has changed the past few months it is more critical than ever that Jackson is here to kick things off.

Jackson’s mere attendance speaks volumes to his personal buy-in. After he passed on a $750,000 contract stipulation last season, we know what Jackson is willing to trade for not coming to OTAs. How much more would his presence in Owings Mills be worth?

For new head coach Jesse Minter and his relatively young staff, it’s a wind at their back that the team’s best returning player is here to start things off. For general manager Eric DeCosta, it’s a public sign that maybe Jackson is excited to keep discussing a contract extension.

For all the other Ravens players, it’s an example. Can you really skip offseason work with the new coaching staff if the mercurial star quarterback made the trek?

Jackson has already achieved so many positives just by showing up. It’s the first step in the right direction for a team that needs to take many this offseason. Coaches need to implement their new schemes. Jackson needs to jell with a much-changed offensive line and a new tight end group.

This season, he has to play even more of a leading role.

Since that frosty, disappointing season-ending defeat in Pittsburgh, Jackson has been characteristically sparse in public. He has made appearances in his native South Florida, including a 7-on-7 tournament, and we’ve seen clips of his boxing training and a throwing session with Zay Flowers. Jackson largely seems to keep his own counsel in his training, which worked for him in 2023 and 2024 before injuries slowed him last year.

But attentive Baltimore fans will notice where he hasn’t been seen before now: in Maryland.

Although Ravens officials have said Jackson was a part of the coaching interview process, he seemingly did not accept owner Steve Bisciotti’s invitation to fly up for interviews via charter. He didn’t appear at Minter’s introductory news conference (notably, Josh Allen came to Buffalo coach Joe Brady’s introduction, walking in on crutches).

Fans hoping Jackson would sign a salary-cap-saving contract extension before NFL free agency were disappointed — the Ravens restructured his contract, but that hardly merits a feel-good news conference. According to DeCosta, the two parties “kind of ran out of time,” but they could have agreed to a new deal any day in the month since they missed that deadline.

The only tweet that seemed to imply any kind of excitement from Jackson — a Denzel Washington “boom” GIF — occurred hours before the Maxx Crosby trade, which later fell apart under murky circumstances. (He also endorsed a possible reunion with free-agent linebacker Jadeveon Clowney.)

Was he disappointed when Crosby’s acquisition blew up? Is Trey Hendrickson as good a get in Jackson’s eyes? We don’t have definitive answers to these questions.

Jackson isn’t contractually required to do any of these things, or even to react to what the Ravens have done. It may, in some sense, be in his best interest to retain a poker face throughout. But without a definitive, ringing endorsement for the direction of the Ravens, the minimum Jackson can do is be here and start to create a sense of unity.

How much have Minter and his coaches spoken with Jackson? They’ve largely kept those discussions private.

But given how little we’ve heard from Jackson about the coaching and roster developments, would it be that much of a surprise if claiming privacy served to mask that not many behind-the-scenes discussions with the star quarterback have taken place?

“I think Lamar is really excited about what we have going on,” Minter said last week at the annual league meeting. “I think he’s excited about opportunities in the offseason program. Again, we’ll see on April 6 who all walks in the door.”

At this point, Jackson needed to give the public something — anything — to reflect confidence in Baltimore’s overhauled staff and a renewed dedication to winning a Super Bowl.

Jackson walking in the door says a lot more about his mindset than Minter ever could. And now, fortunately, it’s one fewer thing Minter has to talk about.

The bar for Jackson’s offseason participation is so low that any bump is a huge boost to what the Ravens are audaciously trying to achieve — going from out of the playoffs to a bona fide Super Bowl contender with a rookie head coach. The thing that ties all that ambition together is Jackson, who as ever holds the key to Baltimore’s success, or its failure.

Showing up at the Castle this week for offseason training is a huge victory for the Ravens months ahead of kickoff.

And, mercifully, it relieves us all from having to talk about football minutiae during this time of the year any more than we already do.