ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says at the end of the day, he wouldn’t be surprised if the Ravens continue negotiating with QB Lamar Jackson and ultimately sign him to a contract extension this offseason.
He admits the conversation around Jackson has come to a head in the past week or so, with a column in the Baltimore Sun laying out some alleged behind-the-scenes behavior from Jackson that the team is less than happy with.
Combined with the struggles of Baltimore on the field, as the Ravens could be eliminated from the playoffs today if the Steelers beat the Browns, it’s led to speculation about the team making drastic changes in 2026.
Fowler can’t speak to all of the buzz around Jackson right now, but can say that the unpredictability of the star quarterback’s availability, whether for practices or games, has been something that has worn on the team to some degree.
The two-time MVP has missed four games this year, the most recent with a significant and painful back bruise, and has dealt with hamstring and ankle injuries as well.
He has two years remaining on his deal with non-guaranteed base salaries of $51.25 million and huge cap hits, which in theory should give both sides reason to sort something out at the negotiating table.
Jackson, 28, is a former first-round pick of the Ravens back in 2018. He played out the fourth year of his four-year, $9,471,652 contract that included a $5,968,472 signing bonus.
The Ravens picked up Jackson’s fifth-year option that cost them $23 million fully guaranteed for the 2022 season. He was due to be an unrestricted free agent in 2023 when the Ravens used the non-exclusive franchise tag at a cost of $32.3 million, fully guaranteed.
Baltimore later signed Jackson to a five-year, $260 million extension. He’s due base salaries of $20.25 million, $51.25 million, and $51.25 million in the final three years of the deal.
In 2025, Jackson has appeared in 12 games for the Ravens and thrown for 2,311 yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 63.7 percent of his passes. He has also rushed for 340 and two touchdowns.
We’ll have more on Jackson and the Ravens as the news is available.
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As a Ravens fan this would be a mistake but hey oh well signing a injury ridden run heavy qb to another deal would be absolutely Franchise suicide he won’t win us a,SB