The trade deadline chatter around Baltimore keeps circling back to Lamar Jackson, and for good reason. His thumb injury has only sharpened the speculation after an offseason in which he still didn’t land an extension, despite the Ravens pushing hard to get a deal done.
Jackson’s contract setup is what makes this so combustible. He carries a huge cap hit in 2027, the final year of his deal, and he holds both no-tag and no-trade clauses. That gives him real control if this ever turns into a standoff, even if the Ravens would obviously prefer to keep him in place.
ESPN’s Ian Rapoport said he believes strongly that Jackson wants to be in Baltimore long term, and that there are other reasons he didn’t look to sign an extension this past year.
Jeremy Fowler also said he’s had conversations that make him think Colts QB Daniel Jones is at least on the radar of some teams heading into the deadline, Baltimore included. Dan Graziano added that he doubts the Ravens are ready to throw in the towel on the season, and he’d expect them to at least consider a trade for Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett now that Brissett has been benched.
Even with all that quarterback noise, Graziano noted there’s another name to watch: RB Derrick Henry. He said to keep half an eye on Henry as a trade candidate, especially if the Ravens get thumped again by the Jaguars on Thursday.
Fowler also wrote that if the Ravens can’t extend Jackson next offseason, they’d have to at least entertain the idea of a trade, even with Jackson’s no-trade clause giving him major leverage. In Fowler’s view, Jackson’s market would be much stronger than the last time he was in this position.
There’s also a separate layer to Baltimore’s deadline picture with WR Rashod Bateman, who would probably welcome the chance to land with a team where he’s a bigger part of the offense.
In Cleveland, the Browns look like a team that could make a smaller move rather than a splash. ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi pointed to their 11 picks next year and their 5-3 record, but said he doesn’t think they’ll make any big swings because they still have long-term quarterback uncertainty and need to plan for that. He said help at tight end or along the defensive line would make more sense if they do act.
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