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Rubbing his chin, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson thought about his first contract question of 2026 before defaulting to his typical answer.

“I was thinking about how I was going to respond to this question if I got it, but, you know, I’m going to give you the same answer I always give,” Jackson said. “I just want to keep those conversations private.”

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti had expressed his desire for a contract extension with the two-time MVP quarterback to be wrapped up by the start of free agency in March. But general manager Eric DeCosta said they ran out of time, and team had to restructure Jackson’s contract instead.

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Jackson’s current contract expires at the end of the 2027 league year in March 2028. The quarterback now has even more leverage in negotiations.

Jackson evaded the next question about his contract, but the third one got one more detail out of him: He “absolutely” wants to stay in Baltimore.

“I love the Ravens,” Jackson said. “I love this organization. I love this city. Just the team that drafted me, you know, got a lot of love from me.”

By restructuring Jackson’s contract, the Ravens reduced Jackson’s 2026 cap hit from $74.5 million to $34.39 million by converting his salary into a signing bonus. However, that increases his 2027 cap hit to a whopping $84.34 million.

It also created void years in Jackson’s contract, which means that if the Ravens don’t agree to an extension with him, they will have to account for $42.47 million on their cap in 2028 even if he is no longer with the team.

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Jackson declined to answer whether he wants to bet on himself and play out this season so that if it goes well, he’ll have even more leverage.

He also said that leaked conversations between him and DeCosta from their last contract negotiation do not give insight into how this year’s conversations are going.