1. Lamar Jackson, QB, Ravens
This is the obvious one that everyone will be talking about. With all due respect to Bozeman and Elliott, the most important contract situation the Ravens still need to sort out is the one involving their franchise quarterback, Lamar Jackson.
No player is as synonymous with the current organization as Jackson and he should receive his monster extension in the near future.
It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.
Jackson and the Ravens seem content biding their time, perhaps well into the 2021 season. Once Josh Allen’s extension was agreed to earlier in the summer, many expected Jackson’s deal not to be too far behind.
But as of now, it appears that extension talks have quieted down with Jackson insisting that he’s focused on the season, not a new contract.
The former MVP is entering the fourth year of his rookie deal in 2021 and is technically still under contract in 2021 after the team picked up his fifth-year option. Hence why there’s no rush from either side.
Jackson will get his money. The Ravens will make him one of the highest-paid players in NFL history. Everyone should come out of this happy.
But until it gets done, it will be just another contract situation hanging over the Ravens’ heads. No future extension is more important than Jackson’s.
That might not just be true for the Ravens. It might be true for the entire NFL.