By all appearances, the Ravens would like to get a contract extension done with quarterback Lamar Jackson.
In his season-ending press conference a year ago, General Manager Eric DeCosta came out and said explicitly that Jackson deserved a new deal after playing “phenomenal football over the last couple years.”
But with Jackson representing himself in negotiations, no deal happened over the offseason. No deal happened in training camp. And no deal happened in the bye week.
After the season ended, Jackson said he hadn’t had any conversations with the team about a contract extension, noting he had to worry about getting healthy. Jackson suffered a bone bruise in his ankle in Week 14 and didn’t play for the rest of the season.
On Friday, the first question of DeCosta’s press conference was about Jackson. Because Jackson doesn’t have an agent, DeCosta called it an “unusual negotiation,” adding that he wouldn’t divulge the specifics of a conversation with a player.
“What I can say is that Lamar and I have had probably five or six conversations at different points over the last year in regards to his contract,” DeCosta said. “We picked up his option, as you know. I think, at this point, I would say that we’re working at Lamar’s pace. He’s comfortable where we are right now. I think he feels like we have a lot of unfinished business — he has a lot of unfinished business. He wants to win the division. He wants to win the Super Bowl. I think he and I both share that same vision.
“And so, that’s basically where we stand. There’s a great line of communication. I know that Lamar knows he can come up to see me at any point. he can call me at any point. We actually talked this week. He can text me at any point and we will operate based on his urgency. So that’s basically where we stand.”
DeCosta also made it clear that Jackson, and not Jackson’s mother, is the one he’s working with on any new contract.
“I’ve always spoken to Lamar. It was made clear to me early on in the process that Lamar and I would work together. So that’s been the case,” DeCosta said. “I’m very comfortable with the relationship I have with Lamar. I think he would say the same thing. And I think the line of communication is great.”
Jackson is under contract through the 2022 season on his fifth-year option. But parsing DeCosta’s words, it’s clear that the Ravens are willing to work with Jackson to get a long-term contract done. But it takes two to tango and at this point, it appears Jackson has not made his way to the dance floor.