Ozzie Newsome’s last draft as Ravens normal supervisor in 2018 noticed the workforce safe a succession plan for Joe Flacco on the quarterback place. With the Tremendous Bowl XLVII MVP getting older and approaching an necessary monetary level in his contract, Lamar Jackson was chosen to at some point take over the reins of a transitioning offense.
That point got here halfway via Jackson’s rookie season, when the Louisville product took over for an injured Flacco. He helped lead the Ravens to a 6-1 report and a playoff berth, cementing his standing because the starter transferring ahead.
The 2019 season noticed Jackson ship one of the vital distinctive and historic performances in NFL historical past, culminating within the league’s second ever unanimous MVP vote. Expectations have been via the roof ever since, however the state of affairs between Jackson and the Ravens has soured just lately with contract talks netting little progress over the previous two years.
The 26-year-old was considered subsequent in line for a mega-extension just like those signed by Patrick Mahomes and 2018 classmate Josh Allen. The Ravens have been ready to pay Jackson similarly to these two by way of annual compensation within the neighborhood of $45M per season. As time wore on with out a lot traction being gained throughout negotiations, although, the occasions of final offseason marked an necessary turning level.
After being the topic of a bidding battle, Deshaun Watson was in the end traded to the Browns and signed to a five-year, $230M deal. The shock from Cleveland’s willingness to half with three first-round picks for Watson was surpassed solely by the totally assured nature of his pact. Many across the league – together with Ravens proprietor Steve Bisciotti – lamented the historic investment the Browns made in Watson, aware of how it could possible have an effect on Jackson’s leverage in extension talks.
The earlier season had seen Baltimore discover itself atop the AFC standings earlier than a reaching a tipping level on the damage entrance. That included Jackson lacking time because of damage for the primary time in his profession. He was sidelined for the ultimate 5 video games of the 12 months, and the Ravens narrowly missed the playoffs whereas struggling mightily on offense. Experiences then emerged through the summer time of 2022 that the two-time Professional Bowler turned down a suggestion together with $133M in guaranteed money.
That determine would have ranked second within the league, however nowhere close to the extent of Watson’s deal. New contracts signed by Russell Wilson ($124M totally assured) and Kyler Murray ($103M) advised groups had been prepared to disregard the Watson accord by way of precedent on the assure entrance, one thing the Ravens’ entrance workplace is holding agency on. Jackson made it clear he would pause negotiations through the 2022 season, one which was anticipated to supply readability on his monetary future.
Taking part in on the fifth-year possibility, Jackson and the Ravens as an alternative adopted an analogous script this 12 months. The previous Heisman winner suffered a knee damage in Week 13, one thing which was not initially anticipated to value him the rest of the season. That ended up being the case, nonetheless, and far was made about his absence extending into the workforce’s postseason loss. Jackson’s choice to take to social media to elaborate on the extent of his PCL sprain, and later to problem a thinly-veiled directive to the workforce concerning his impending free company, didn’t sit nicely.
Having missed 10 of the previous 22 video games, accidents have grow to be a speaking level with a lot at stake in contract talks. That determine might give the Ravens (or another workforce) perceived leverage, however Jackson has a lot as nicely. The Ravens are 46-19 in his begins, and 4-9 with out him since 2019. The workforce’s offense has averaged 10 fewer factors per sport with out Jackson throughout that span.
New offensive coordinator Todd Monken is expected to produce schematic changes in comparison with Greg Roman, the OC throughout every of Jackson’s 4 full seasons as a starter. No matter what takes place on that entrance, the Ravens’ pass-catching corps (which lacks established playmakers exterior of tight finish Mark Andrews) will likely be a key space of focus. Additions – reminiscent of a long-term substitute for Marquise Brown, whose commerce request was quietly granted final spring – will likely be laborious to come back by when Jackson takes up a considerably larger portion of the Ravens’ cap, both via a mega-deal or a one-year cost introduced on by the franchise tag.
The issue in buying and retaining pass-catchers more and more turned some extent of competition after Flacco turned his 2012 playoff success right into a franchise-record extension. Trepidation on the workforce’s half by way of seeking to keep away from a repeat of that state of affairs can be comprehensible up to some extent, because the Ravens look to maintain Jackson within the fold whereas not compromising an in any other case robust roster.
With the franchise tag being all-but sure in Jackson’s case, this saga might proceed for months to come back. A suggestion sheet or tag-and-trade might come into play, relying on which tag the Ravens use and Jackson’s perceived market across the league. Whether or not he indicators his tag is one other matter altogether, and sitting out the offseason might result in a holdout state of affairs just like Le’Veon Bell in 2018. The then-Steeler skipped all the marketing campaign, forfeiting hundreds of thousands in compensation (albeit far lower than what Jackson can be giving up if he adopted swimsuit). Bell nonetheless landed a big-ticket deal from the Jets in 2019, so the tactic might show helpful if a repeat had been to be tried. It is also price noting, nonetheless, that Bell by no means replicated his pre-holdout success on the sphere.
No possibility is off the desk at this level, from a franchise-record deal to the league’s first ever commerce involving an MVP underneath the age of 30.
