The contract between Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens, former MVP quarterback, is set to expire this month, and his future with the team appears to be over. There have long been rumors linking Jackson to the many teams.
As the 32nd overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Jackson has been with the Ravens since. It was reported that year that he received a $9.47 million rookie deal with a $4.97 million signing bonus.
The American has played five seasons for the Ravens, passed for 12,209 yards and 101 touchdowns, been named to participate in one Pro Bowl, and has received one MVP award. The 26-years old has also been awarded the youngest NFL quarterback while starting a playoff game at age 21.
The NFL star has been with the Ravens since they selected him with the No. 32 overall pick in the 2018 Draft. It was reported that year that Jackson signed a $9.47 million rookie contract with a $4.97 million signing bonus.
Statement of Eric DeCosta regarding Lamar Jackson’s Contract
General manager Eric DeCosta stated that the Ravens intend to continue talks with Jackson with the aim of signing the quarterback to a long-term contract this summer. The Ravens agree the QB is worth a contract with between $160 million and $180 million in guaranteed money, yet the current Raven player is unsatisfied with this sum and demands a fully guaranteed contract for $230 million. Before the 2022 NFL season, Lamar reportedly refused the Ravens’ offer of a five-year contract extension.
The current GM of the Ravens remains optimistic stating “Lamar’s throwing ideas to me [and] I’m throwing ideas to him. We have to appreciate the position of the other person, we have to respect the other person’s position and where they’re coming from and we have to be willing to consider that this might be really important to them. And if it is, what are we willing to give up, basically, in exchange for something that’s really important to us? So it’s a negotiation, but it has to be a good faith negotiation based on trust, respect, and listening to the other person. Otherwise, it won’t work,”.
However, Sammy Watkins, a wide receiver, and Rashod Bateman have already been added to the Ravens’ roster.
Jackson was a valuable player for the Ravens though he could not continue this performance and please the managers. In almost every match, his performance was destroyed and used to lose a couple of passing attempts per game. Jackson was not failed to show his supremacy in the last season, posting a 48.9 percent on-target rate (41.8 percent in 2019) on attempts of 20-plus yards. At that time, this QB also succeeded to increase his completion rate a little bit to 37.8 percent.
What is going to be Lamar Jackson’s final destination?
Jackson’s list of provable teams are the Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers, Miami Dolphins, Vikings, Raiders, Titans, etc.
The Titans, who currently rank fourth in available cap space ($17.3 million), can easily consider this quarterback to be a better long-term option than Tannehill.
Four steps to getting Lamar Jackson to the Vikings:
1) GM Kwesi may already know Kirk is likely gone next year.
2) Sign Jackson to an offer. Lose two first rounders.
3) The Jets may be frustrated with the Packers trying to extort them in compensation for https://t.co/VOaktsZq89…— Paul Charchian (@PaulCharchian) March 19, 2023
The Vikings are already $1.8 million over the salary cap, making things much more difficult. Again, Jackson could be a better fit for the Chicago Bears as they have $32.4 million in cap space.
However, every team will consider cap space and will attempt to build a low-cap number into a contract for this season in order to fit Jackson in, leaving Jackson’s future uncertain.
