Lamar Jackson became eligible for a contract extension after the 2020 season. Yet, he remains without one.
Not long after Ravens coach John Harbaugh said both sides are motivated to get a long-term deal completed, the quarterback said he hopes to get it done before the start of the season.
“I think so. I think so. I think so. We’ll have to see,” Jackson said, via Sarah Ellison the co-host of Ravens Vault. “There will probably be a cutoff at some point . . . so hopefully.”
Jackson is entering the fifth-year option of his rookie deal with a $23.016 million salary for this season. He doesn’t have an agent, instead negotiating his own deal with General Manager Eric DeCosta and acknowledged that “we’re still talking right now.”
Jackson likes the process of doing the contract himself.
“Oh yeah, no doubt,” he said. “Because I don’t like people in my business at all. It’s my business. If I wanted it out there, I would put it out there myself.”
Jackson skipped the team’s entire voluntary offseason program before reporting for the mandatory minicamp. Those were his first practices with the team since Dec. 29 when he tried to practice with a right ankle injury but ended up missing the final four games.
He could have decided to “hold in” at training camp and not practice with the Ravens until a new agreement is in place to avoid an injury risk. Jackson, though, is fully participating.
“Man, I want to win at the end of the day,” Jackson said, via video from the team. “I just want to be great. I just want to work with my brothers at the end of the day. I don’t want to leave them out there hanging. That’s not me. That’s never been me.”
Jackson, the 2019 league MVP, threw for 16 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 12 games last season. He has 84 touchdowns and 31 interceptions in four seasons, with two Pro Bowls.