With contract extension failed, what now for Lamar Jackson and the Ravens?
It’s been the biggest contract related stroy in quite sometime and for the moment it appears to have come to an end with both parties failing to agree, but what happens now?
With the news now indicating that the Ravens signal caller has not agreed to any deal, the franchise now has several questions to answer, not the least of which is could they trade him.
Ravens and Lamar Jackson fail to agree to extension
As we now know, reports on Friday confirmed that the Baltimore Ravens were unable to reach a contract extension with Lamar Jackson. Given that Jackson himself had imposed a Friday deadline, we are now faced with a scenario in which Jackson will play the 2022 NFL regular season on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract to the tune of $23,016,000 fully guaranteed.
“Despite best efforts on both sides, we were unable to reach a contract extension with Lamar Jackson,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said. “We greatly appreciate how he has handled this process and we are excited about our team with Lamar leading the way. We will continue to work towards a long-term contract after the season, but for now we are looking forward to a successful 2022 campaign.”
What now for the Ravens and Lamar Jackson?
While the failure to extend Jackson’s contract is bump in the road, it’s by no means a block. Speaking about the contractual situation on Friday as well, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was quick to express confidence that his quarterback will continue to play for the Ravens past this coming season. Indeed, Harbaugh indicated that the absence of an extension does not mean that negotiations between the Ravens and Jackson are without hope. “I’m confident that’ll happen when it’s time. Lamar is going to be playing quarterback here for a long time,” Harbaugh said. “He and I talked about it yesterday, ‘Hey man, let’s go be our best and go focus on football.’ That’s what he’s been doing all along.”
As for Jackson himself, the 2019 league MVP made it clear that he would not be discussing his situation at kickoff and moreover was not concerned about playing without a guaranteed long-term deal. Jackson then went on to echo his coach’s focus on the upcoming season rather than board room business. “I haven’t thought about any injuries, or anything like that. I just came off one last season, and I’m feeling pretty good this season,” Jackson said. “I don’t even want to put that in the atmosphere. It was a pretty big risk last season, the year before. I wasn’t thinking about contract negotiations around that time. This season, it’s going to be the same thing, but I’m just playing football. Anything can happen, but God forbid the wrong thing happens, I’m keeping God first and just playing ball, like I’ve been doing.”
The Ravens and the risk
To be clear, there is a huge risk involved in the Ravens’ current position. That’s to say, when we consider the kind of talent that Jackson is, the franchise’s refusal to give him a long-term deal raises a few eyebrows to say the least. With Jackson as a starter - he began back in 2018 - Baltimore has a record of 37-12. This is a player, who became the first quarterback in NFL history to reach 35 regular-season wins before the age of 25. To date, he has completed 64.2% of his passes for 9,880 yards with 83 touchdowns to 31 interceptions (98.0 rating).
That says nothing of his rushing, with which he has amassed a staggering 3,564 yards and 20 touchdowns. To punctuate the point, the speed at which he arrived at 5,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards (35 games), is the fastest in NFL history. There are also his ten 100-yard rushing games, which are tied with Michael Vick for the most in league history. Last but not least, he’s the only quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards in a season twice. His five games with 200 passing yards and 100 rushing yards are the most in league history. This is all to say the Ravens are playing with fire and that’s before we consider the real possibility that Jackson’s value increases even further after this coming season.
Could the Ravens trade Lamar Jackson and if so, where?
In truth, the chances of Lamar Jackson going elsewhere are quite slim and especially after comments from both him and the team suggest that they are happy to move forward together. With that said, the only real way in which such an outcome could occur would likely hinge on the idea that a long-term agreement between the two parties is absolutely off the table. Even so, it would be hard to imagine the Ravens playing Jackson for a further two seasons before he hits free agency in 2025, only to leave in exchange for below par compensation.
If we consider the fact, that the Broncos just traded two first-round picks in exchange for 33-year-old Russell Wilson, then there’s no telling what the Ravens could ask for Jackson, who won’t be 26 before January 7th next year. Let’s be frank here, trading Jackson would be nothing short of unprecedented. Yes, it’s true that talks have stalled and they will now head into the season without a deal in place, but given what we’ve heard so far, expect one to be finalized when the next NFL offseason rolls around again. Either that or we’ll be in for one of the biggest quarterback sweepstakes in years.