"He hasn't been treating this with much urgency" - NFL analyst claims Lamar Jackson not too keen on discussing contract extension with Ravens
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson will be playing this season on the final deal of his rookie contract. The Ravens elected to pick up Jackson's fifth-year option for the 2021 season following the 2020 season.
Ravens officially picked up QB Lamar Jackson’s fully-guaranteed, $23.1 million fifth-year option. Time to continue work on the long-term extension.
Some expected the former MVP and the Ravens to hammer out a new deal this off-season, but Jackson has apparently been patient about getting a new contract.
ESPN's NFL insider Dan Graziano spoke on Get Up about Jackson's contract situation with the Ravens. Graziano thinks getting a contract done with the Ravens is not the quarterback's top priority.
Graziano said:
"The key thing to understand about the Lamar Jackson situation is that it's difficult to get a handle on what he is thinking. He doesn't have an agent, right? So it's not a traditional negotiation. The team would love to know more about what he's thinking, but so far, he hasn't been treating this with much urgency. It doesn't seem like getting the contract done is his highest priority."
Graziano added that the expectation is that Jackson will be present at the team's mandatory minicamp and focus on trying to win the Super Bowl this year:
"The expectation around the situation is that he'll show up for mandatory minicamp, show up for training camp and focus on trying to win the Superbowl with the Ravens this year."
Lamar Jackson has been patient through the entire process
Jackson could be wanting to prove himself to the Ravens this season and have another good year before he talks about a contract extension.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler spoke about the situation and said that Lamar Jackson "is prepared to remain patient":
"I spoke to a source who said Lamar Jackson is prepared to remain patient. He's not overly eager, still, to do a deal, even though the Ravens would like this to heat up some time in the next six weeks leading up to training camp. I'm told that Jackson knows where the Ravens stand. He knows they want to do a long-term deal, but this is going to be a high-tax bracket deal; it's going to need to be in that $43 million per year or more range, and it's uncertain as of now if the Ravens will get that far."
Fowler added that Jackson knows the Ravens are "loosely prepared" to franchise-tag him next year if a deal is not consolidated, but that does not worry the quarterback:
"I'm told that Jackson knows that the Ravens are loosely prepared to franchise-tag him in 2023 in the absence of a deal and that he's not scared or worried about that. "
Fowler added that Jackson is prepared for all scenarios:
"If this has to go even sort of year-to-year or if this has to bleed into the season, he's prepared for all scenarios and he knows that he needs to maximize his worth here. So, he's not really sweating it. The Ravens, as of now, are not sweating it. There's plenty of time to figure it out this summer."
Last season, Lamar Jackson had a down year compared to his MVP season in 2019. He completed 64.4 percent of his throws for 2,882 yards with just 16 touchdowns and 13 interceptions across 12 contests in 2021 while rushing for 767 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
When will Lamar Jackson engage the Ravens in contract talks? It may not be until 2023, at the earliest. wp.me/pbBqYq-cf6X