The Ravens have their head coach. Now, they have to figure out how much longer they’ll have their quarterback.
Lamar Jackson has a significant amount of power in the relationship. He’s under contract for two more years, with a no-tag and no-trade clause in his deal. He can, if he wants, collect $104 million over the next two seasons and become an unrestricted free agent in March 2028.
By then, coincidentally, the Dolphins will have moved past the lingering cap consequences of the ill-advised Tua Tagovailoa contract.
So the Ravens have to figure out the Lamar situation. Owner Steve Bisciotti said last week that he hopes to extend Lamar’s contract before the start of free agency. From Jackson’s perspective, the goal would be to move from tenth on the list of highest-paid quarterbacks, possibly to first. (We recently roughed out the parameters of a new five-year, $287 million deal that would get him to $61 million per year in new money.) If they don’t get it done, the Ravens will exercise their prerogative to restructure the current contract, shrinking his $74.5 million cap number for 2026 (while kicking millions in cap dollars down the road).
Unless someone calls. Someone with an offer the Ravens won’t refuse, and with the wherewithal to sign Jackson beyond 2027. If that happens, all bets are off.
The biggest unknown at this point is whether and to what extent Jackson was truly involved in the coaching search, and whether he’s pleased with the decision to hire a first-time head coach with a defensive background, in lieu of a former head coach with an offensive pedigree. We know Bisciotti wanted Lamar to be involved; we don’t know whether he was.
It’s no small issue. Before the umpteen lawsuits were filed in March 2021, the relationship between the Texans and quarterback Deshaun Watson ruptured over his perception that the team ignored his input in the process that led to the hiring of G.M. Nick Caserio and coach David Culley. If Lamar believes he wasn’t heard, and if he disagrees with the ultimate selection made, that could become a problem.
The next key step, as to the coaching process, will be the hiring of an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. As it relates to potential tea-leaves reading, the questions asked and answered (or not answered) during Jesse Minter’s introductory press conference could be revealing, one way or the other, as to where things stand with Lamar.
The wild card is whether Lamar will have anything to say, privately or publicly. If/when he decides it’s time for a fresh start, would he try to send that message discreetly? If that fails, would he use social media (or some other avenue) to make a statement?
Whatever he does, Lamar has the wheel. He can reject all offers and aim for free agency in two years. Which would require the Ravens to either make him a financial offer he can’t refuse, or to field a trade offer that the Ravens won’t refuse — and for which Lamar would waive his no-trade clause.
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