Under contract for one final season with the Baltimore Ravens, quarterback Lamar Jackson is scheduled to play for the fifth-year option value of $23.02 million this season.
A long-term extension “will take care of itself” was Jackson’s position when the 2021 season ended with the Ravens heading home instead of the playoffs.
General manager Eric DeCosta said at the NFL Scouting Combine there was no true urgency from Jackson to address his contract.
“We’ve discussed this at length and I said this before: We will work at Lamar’s urgency,” DeCosta said. “He and I have had ongoing discussions. We’ve talked fairly recently as well. He knows how to find me, I know how to find him.”
Contract values for quarterbacks are growing by the year, with Patrick Mahomes leading the way at $45 million annually, a mark that could be erased if the Packers agree to redo MVP Aaron Rodgers’ deal to keep him in Green Bay.
But the Ravens haven’t rushed into a contract with Jackson, the former NFL MVP who made $9.4 million in base salary his first four seasons in the league while accounting for 105 total touchdowns.
By comparison, another member of Jackson’s draft class, Bills quarterback Josh Allen, signed a six-year $258 million extension in 2021.
Jackson, 25, has no peer in terms of running quarterbacks in the NFL but missed four games last season while rushing for 767 yards. Jackson has 3,673 rushing yards in four seasons.
–Field Level Media
