Lamar Jackson knows exactly what he’s doing, but how will it affect the Ravens?

The Arizona Cardinals recently signed quarterback Kyler Murray to a giant contract extension, leading to a whole new round of speculation about when Lamar Jackson will sign his contract extension with the Baltimore Ravens.

Jackson, who has already indicated that he thinks he deserves a bigger contract than Murray, is now the last quarterback drafted in either 2018 or 2019 who has had his fifth-year option picked up by the team that drafted him but has not yet signed an extension.

The reporting on Jackson’s contract has been unlike any other because this is a contract negotiation unlike any other. Jackson does not have an agent, meaning that NFL insiders are devoid of their primary source of information when it comes to the progress of these negotiations.

Much of the reporting has been replaced by speculation from non-insiders about whether negotiations are happening, whether the Ravens want Jackson back, or whether Jackson wants to return to the Ravens.

The truth is that he is simply playing the NFL quarterback market in an unusual way, and raising his value in the process.