NFL teams know that if a quarterback works perfectly for them, there could be two reasons: either the city is right for him, or he is right for the city. For an often misunderstood Baltimore, the Ravens fans just know that both of those cases hold for their quarterback, Lamar Jackson. The question was never about whether he belongs in the city. But as teams still searching for an answer to their 14-year Super Bowl drought often do, asking the question of how long a grace period lasts becomes important. Perhaps the Ravens are already there. 

Last season could not have gone worse for the Baltimore Ravens. The team with Super Bowl aspirations spiraled behind an injury-prone Jackson and missed the playoffs altogether. Needless to say, it was a subpar season for the quarterback who would be a surefire Hall of Famer even if he retired today. And Baltimore fans don’t care how Jackson’s season goes. Yes, they do want to bring the Super Bowl to the city. Much, much more than that, however, they want Jackson to win it. But after long contract negotiations ended up being fruitless, the team has reportedly made one decision.

“There will be no last-minute, buzzer-beating, day-of-the-opener lucrative contract extension for Ravens QB Lamar Jackson — the way there was for Cowboys QB Dak Prescott on opening day two years ago, per league sources,” reported ESPN’s Adam Schefter on X on September 12. “Any deal is on hold, likely until 2027.”

It is not news that franchise cornerstones get an extension a year or two ahead of their contract expiring. At 29, Jackson has two years left on his current deal, but considering that he has been in this position before with the Ravens, he could hit unrestricted free agency after the 2027 season. But a lot depends on his performance this season as he gets under the microscope of every NFL pundit.

After producing his best numbers across multiple categories in 2024, Jackson’s 2025 performance fell off a cliff. But the concern was not because he was injured, but more because of how he performed when he was not. His completion percentage was his worst in three years. He was sacked 36 times, an increase of 13 from 2024 despite playing fewer games. The two-time MVP rushed for only 349 yards, by far the lowest output of his career. The most surprising fact was that he fell from No. 2 in 2024 to No. 69 in 2025. But even though everything seems to be looking away from the QB, this season could be a lot different.

For starters, Baltimore no longer has its legendary coach John Harbaugh, who went to New York this offseason. If you remember, Harbaugh and Jackson were apparently not on the same page for most of last season, and it continued to boil until the team had to choose between a legendary coach and an iconic quarterback. They chose the latter. Now, he enters Baltimore fresh, healthy, and with new coaches — head coach Jesse Minter and offensive coordinator Declan Doyle — helping him reach his true potential.

“I believe we have a lot in store,” Jackson said. “New season, it feels like a new breath of fresh air. A lot of moving parts. We can put guys in different positions to win. I feel like the success rate should be high. That is what I am expecting, but we will see.”

Another thing that can happen is that the Ravens could extend Jackson after this season once they have seen how he performs under the new coaching staff and if his style of play is what they are looking for. Jackson has the NFL’s third-highest cap hit of $84.34 million in 2027. And there’s one strong reason why that’s probably what’s going to happen.

The Ravens have a big reason for keeping Lamar Jackson around in their new era

Let me repeat what I had previously mentioned… Last season, the team had to make a choice between their head coach John Harbaugh and QB Lamar Jackson. The dilemma occurred in the first place after Harbaugh and Jackson’s chemistry continued to plummet through their many seasons together, where neither the QB was improving his results nor Harbaugh was able to push the Ravens’ luck. Having known what happens to dynasties that keep their coach over their QB, think of the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era New England, the Ravens made the right choice. But their luck hasn’t turned yet. What this change has certainly done, though, is give Jackson more power.

Throughout the interview process for head coaches and OC, Jackson was actively involved. This means that the Ravens are giving the baton once again into the hands of the quarterback who was brought in because of his generational talent. He is one of the people who gave a final green light for Minter and Doyle. And his involvement continues even now.

“We came away from that meeting like, ‘Wow, this dude is all in. He’s really excited,”’ Minter said of Jackson when they met in person for the first time earlier in the offseason. “He told me right then that he was going to be there for a lot of the offseason program. That was the first thing he told me, without me even bringing it up.”

If anything, both Minter and Doyle chose to come to Baltimore because of the opportunity to work with an icon like Lamar Jackson. But even if none of this had happened, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti had already shown his intentions of handing the two-time MVP a new contract.

Bisciotti needs to work faster if he doesn’t want to test Jackson’s patience

The Ravens owner previously mentioned that he wanted to make Jackson the highest-paid QB in the league and get it done as soon as possible.

“We’ve got free agents and I don’t want to go into free agency with that hanging overhead,” Bisciotti said in January. “And I made that clear to Lamar and I think he was very appreciative of my stance and hopefully willing to work with [Ravens general manager] Eric [DeCosta] and not get this thing dragged out into April like the last time. It’s very hard for him to build a roster when that thing is not settled.”

Their willingness to get this sorted is expected. Since making his NFL debut in 2018, Jackson has gone 76-31 (.710) as a regular-season starter, giving him the second-best record in the league. But the extension he secured in 2023 followed after a messy negotiation between the two sides. Jackson had even asked for a trade because the Ravens “have not been interested in meeting my value.”

“I think people remember that, know Jackson and the team didn’t appear to be on the same page for parts of last season and assume that will carry over into these negotiations,” The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec wrote.

“He has to have some level of frustration because he’s the only quarterback that has to go through this twice,” Former Raven Shannon Sharpe said on Nightcap. “Remember, he played one year on the franchise tag. No other quarterback—Dak did it one year, and then they came back, and they took care of Dak, and they’ve been taking care of Dak ever since. He like, ‘I got to go through this again?’”

But as reported by The Athletic’s Jonathan Jones, Jackson and the Ravens are still on good terms.

“People definitely think there’s beef, but they’re wrong,” a league source said. “In the past, and now.”

However, just because the Ravens have postponed discussions doesn’t mean the problem is done and dusted. Jackson has a no-tag clause on his contract, which means he is up for grabs once the contract runs out, and there is no extension in the picture. It can be catastrophic for Baltimore to lose Jackson, because he is one of the best in the league.

With the new contract still away, there are already too many things on Jackson’s plate. He has yet to perfect his resume, missing out on the most crucial honor.  

When asked what would make this season a successful one for the Ravens, Jackson replied, “Winning it all.”

“It would be crazy for me to say I played with Lamar Jackson and we didn’t win no championships,” veteran and star running back Derrick Henry said on The Lounge. “I cannot have that. I do not want that to be a thing. We’ve got to do it.”

Jackson is the fastest QB in NFL history to reach 6,000 career rushing yards (100 games). His name is etched with the most 100-yard rushing performances by a QB in the league. But bringing the Lombardi home has always been the goal. And Jackson is ready to go out and do just that, with or without an extension.