The Baltimore Ravens affirmed their commitment to quarterback Lamar Jackson in a Thursday presser and spoke briefly about what the future might hold.
Following months of speculation, the Ravens have finally provided a direct and crystal clear message: Jackson is their franchise quarterback. Jackson and the Ravens still have to hash out the specifics of a mega-contract extension, but it appears as though Baltimore will do everything in its power to retain Jackson for 2023 and beyond.
In a press conference on Thursday, head coach John Harbaugh and general manager Eric DeCosta discussed the future of the Ravens franchise. The presser came a little over an hour after the Ravens announced Greg Roman was stepping down from his offensive coordinator role.
As Baltimore braces for change, some things will hopefully stay the same. Harbaugh confirmed Jackson is the Ravens’ franchise quarterback and that he is “200 percent” sure he will be in Baltimore in the future.
John Harbaugh: “Lamar Jackson is our quarterback.” Says he is 100%, 200% sure that they want Lamar to be the Ravens’ QB in the future.
— Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) January 19, 2023
Harbaugh said everyone wants Lamar to be in Baltimore and Lamar wants to be here.
Ravens re-affirm their commitment to franchise QB Lamar Jackson
DeCosta echoed Harbaugh’s sentiments, going as far as to say he believes Jackson wants to finish his career as a Raven.
DeCosta also declined to talk about potential trade offers as the team seems laser-focused on getting a deal done with Jackson by the start of the 2023 season.
The two sides have yet to reach an extension agreement after two years of negotiations, and all contract talk was postponed once the Ravens’ 2022 season was underway.
After an early playoff exit and yet another injury-plagued year for Jackson, the star quarterback is expected to continue negotiations this offseason. There has been chatter about whether Jackson is an injury-prone quarterback given his absences in the last two years, yet Harbaugh shut all of that down, saying that Jackson got hurt on “freaky plays.”
If Jackson and the Ravens can’t agree to a deal by early March, Baltimore will likely place the franchise tag on Jackson; however, based on what Harbaugh and DeCosta intimated at Thursday’s presser, the Ravens are fully confident they can lock down Jackson for the foreseeable future.
In last year’s end-of-season presser, DeCosta told reporters they were planning to pick up Hollywood Brown’s fifth-year option, so it’s fair to remain cautious until a Jackson deal actually materializes.