Ravens owner: No extension for Lamar Jackson ‘unless he has a change of heart and calls’
from Adam Stites, at YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is currently in line to play the 2022 season on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract before becoming a free agent in 2023. While the Ravens say they would like to sign the 2019 NFL MVP to an extension, the team also says Jackson hasn’t been interested in negotiating a deal.
“Unless he has a change of heart and calls [general manager Eric DeCosta] and says I’m ready,” Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said when asked about a Jackson extension, via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. “But it’s like, Eric can’t keep calling him and say, ‘Hey Lamar, you really need to get in here and get this thing done.”
Jackson, 25, is not represented by a traditional sports agent, but has instead relied on his mother, Felicia Jones, and other enlisted advisors to help him map out his career. While some, including NBC Sports’ Mike Florio, have argued that his untraditional representation is the reason he hasn’t already signed a massive contract extension, others say Jackson is positioning himself perfectly.
In 2021, Jackson earned Pro Bowl honors with 16 passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns, although he threw a career-high 13 interceptions and suffered an ankle injury late in the season.
Jackson was the fifth quarterback picked in the 2018 NFL Draft. Two of the four picked ahead of him, Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen, are no longer with the team that selected them and they will likely be joined by Baker Mayfield soon. The fourth is Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who signed a six-year, $258 million contract in August 2021.