On some level, the Ravens have contemplated what their team would look like without quarterback Lamar Jackson.
General Manager Eric DeCosta admitted as much when he said on Wednesday that the club has been preparing for all kinds of scenarios when it comes to Jackson’s contract.
But head coach John Harbaugh doesn’t want to think about it. In fact, he said he basically hasn’t thought about it at all.
“Not very much. As little as possible, for sure. Our plans are for Lamar,” Harbaugh said in his Combine press conference. “One of the things we did and I think some of it was written about, but we went through a process with the offensive coordinator position. We interviewed 14 candidates, we had 21 different interviews. They were extensive interviews on Zoom and in person and, of course, that comes up, because we’re talking about how we’re going to build an offense and, all of those interviews were based on Lamar being the quarterback.
“Lamar’s the quarterback, how are we going to build an offense? That’s the direction that we’re planning for.”
While DeCosta said he’s “hopeful” the Ravens will be able to strike a long-term deal with Jackson before the March 7 deadline, the situation is trending toward Baltimore using the franchise tag on Jackson.
DeCosta said the Ravens have not decided whether they’ll use the exclusive or non-exclusive franchise tag for Jackson.