The Ravens have officially rounded out their coaching staff under new head coach Jesse Minter, and with that, the offseason enters a more familiar rhythm. The scouting combine kicks off in Indianapolis next week, free agency is just around the corner, and the draft will be here before we know it. But let’s be honest-everything in Baltimore right now revolves around one name: Lamar Jackson.
While the Ravens shift into roster-building mode, Jackson’s contract situation looms large. He’s carrying a massive $74.5 million cap hit in each of the final two years of the five-year, $260 million deal he signed just ahead of the 2023 draft.
That number isn’t just big-it’s unsustainable. And everyone in the building knows it.
The good news? This isn’t uncharted territory.
There’s a foundation already in place, and both sides have a working relationship that could make an extension easier to hammer out this time around. Owner Steve Bisciotti hinted as much last month, suggesting that a new deal could mirror the structure of Jackson’s current contract, just with a higher annual number-likely surpassing Dak Prescott’s league-leading $60 million per year.
But if the last round of negotiations taught us anything, it’s that nothing is final until the ink is dry. Jackson famously negotiates without a certified agent, and that adds a layer of complexity to the process. For now, the Ravens are walking a tightrope: they want to keep their franchise quarterback happy, build a competitive roster around him, and avoid letting this drag into the spring like it did last time.
There’s also the matter of Jackson’s role in the team’s recent coaching changes. While GM Eric DeCosta acknowledged that Jackson had some involvement in the hiring of Minter and offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, he didn’t go into detail. Minter, for his part, knows Jackson from his previous stint in Baltimore, but their past connection wasn’t especially deep-understandable, considering Minter was on the defensive side of the ball back then.
Now, with Minter at the helm, building that relationship is a top priority.
“We’ve had wonderful conversations,” Minter said recently. “I look forward to many, many more. With Lamar, I just look forward to connecting with him, helping him become the best version of himself, creating a team identity that allows him to thrive.”
That kind of synergy between quarterback and coach is critical, especially with a new offensive system coming in. And it’s why getting Jackson in the building for offseason workouts matters more than ever. In recent years, he’s exercised his right to skip much of the voluntary program-a choice that’s well within his rights, but one that draws extra scrutiny when there’s a new playbook to learn and a new staff to build chemistry with.
From a front office perspective, there’s also a practical reason to get a deal done sooner rather than later. DeCosta has a long to-do list this offseason, and freeing up cap space by extending Jackson would give him more flexibility to pursue top-tier free agents. Bisciotti made it clear: the team wants to open another competitive window, and Jackson is the centerpiece of that plan.
“If he doesn’t want to do an extension, then we throw those 74 million out into void years and Lamar’s coming back at the same cap number he was last year,” Bisciotti said, referencing the $43.5 million figure from 2025. “That’s not what we want. We want another window, and Lamar knows that.”
The idea, according to Bisciotti, is simple: plug a new number into the existing contract structure and move forward. But if they don’t, the Ravens could be staring down an even messier cap situation in 2027. Pushing money into void years is a short-term fix that only delays the inevitable-and potentially creates a bigger problem down the road.
There’s also risk in waiting. Jackson has missed at least four games in three of the last five seasons. If injuries pile up again, or if his relationship with the new coaching staff doesn’t click, the idea of committing to a long-term extension a year from now becomes more complicated-especially with the franchise tag no longer an option.
On the flip side, if Jackson delivers another MVP-caliber season and leads the Ravens on a deep playoff run, his value only goes up. And while the Ravens would gladly live with that outcome, betting on another big season without locking him up now could cost them even more later.
At 29, Jackson still has plenty of prime years left, but two seasons is a long time in the NFL. Banking on another shot at free agency in 2028, at age 31, is a gamble-especially when the opportunity to secure a lucrative extension is on the table right now.
For both sides, the logic is clear: get the deal done. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel.
If Jackson and the Ravens are aligned-and all indications are they want to be-this could be a relatively smooth process. But the clock is ticking.
“The urgency of that matters to me because we’ve got free agents,” Bisciotti said. “And I don’t want to go into free agency with that hanging over our head. I made that clear to Lamar, and I think he was very appreciative of my stance.”
Now it’s on DeCosta and Jackson to make it happen-and give the Ravens a clear path forward as they enter a pivotal offseason.