Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who’s under club control through the 2027 season, recently expressed his desire to stay in Baltimore for the long haul. But this offseason has produced no public news of tangible progress on that front, and that reality, combined with a previous report that Jackson is not going to be with the Ravens beyond 2026 if he and the team don’t comply with an extension before Week 1, have led to increased speculation in regards to the two-time MVP’s future.
Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic (subscription required) points out that the strained nature of the parties’ previous extension talks and the undeniable fact that Jackson and the Ravens didn’t look like “on the identical page” for portions of the 2025 season have also driven the speculation. Nevertheless, he believes an absence of stories mustn’t be interpreted as an omen of an imminent separation. In any case, Jackson’s circle doesn’t leak anything to the media, and the club likewise stays tight-lipped about matters involving the face of the franchise out of respect for him. As such, Zrebiec considers it not possible to handicap the status of the negotiations, though he says owner Steve Bisciotti has made it very clear to Jackson the Ravens wish to extend him.
Zrebiec goes on to say there appears to be a “general understanding” between player and team as to the timing of the discussions and that the Ravens will likely be ready to totally engage if and when Jackson is prepared. Nevertheless, it could not be surprising if a brand new deal is pushed back to 2027.
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (video link) suggested as much at the top of May, and he reiterated his report shortly thereafter (notwithstanding the graphic on the video clip which stated an extension is predicted to be finalized this 12 months). As Rapoport observes, it’s unusual for a team to restructure a player’s contract after which extend that player in the identical offseason, and the Ravens finalized a maximum restructure of Jackson’s current deal in March as a way to give themselves the cap space to transact offseason business. Rapoport also suggests Jackson will not be particularly anxious for a brand new contract at this point since he’s as a consequence of earn over $50MM in ’26.
Plus, Jackson’s 2025 performance was marred by injury and a subpar level of play (by his standards). Due to this fact, while he has tremendous leverage by virtue of the restructure and the $84.34MM cap number it created for 2027, he will probably want to come to the negotiating table on the heels of a greater season.
Rapoport doesn’t suggest the 2026 campaign will likely be Jackson’s last in Baltimore. He simply believes – as does our Adam La Rose – that an extension is more prone to be finalized in 2027. Despite next 12 months’s ominous cap charge, Baltimore could release or trade Jackson even in a pre-June 1 maneuver and create a modicum of cap savings (roughly $9.5MM, albeit with a corresponding dead money hit of $74.81MM). A post-June 1 transaction would allow the Ravens to unfolded the dead money and realize 2027 cap savings of $52MM.
Speculatively, it’s difficult to assume the Ravens going that route unless Jackson completely underperforms in 2026 or the connection between him and the team truly sours. At present, a brand new commitment sometime next offseason would appear to be a good expectation.