After greater than a 12 months of sophisticated negotiations and a commerce request, Lamar Jackson would be the Ravens’ quarterback for the long run after he agreed to a five-year contract extension, the workforce introduced Thursday.
Terms of the deal weren’t instantly introduced.
“You know, for the last few months, there’s been a lot of he-said, she-said, a lot of nail biting, a lot of head scratching going on,” Jackson mentioned in a video posted by the workforce. “But for the next five years, there’s a lot of ‘Flock’ going on. Let’s go baby. Can’t wait to get there. Can’t wait to be there. Can’t wait to light up M&T Bank [Stadium] for the next five years. Let’s get it.”
Though basic supervisor Eric DeCosta had mentioned an extension was his all-consuming objective, there had been little trace of progress in negotiations, which stalled for greater than a 12 months as Jackson, who represents himself, sought a deal that might make him one of many highest paid gamers in NFL historical past.
The Ravens have been ready for a murky and maybe painful offseason, with Jackson’s future in Baltimore unsure and tough roster cuts on the desk due to a $32.4 million nonexclusive franchise tag the quarterback acquired March 7. Jackson tweeted earlier than the NFL homeowners conferences final month that he requested to be traded March 2 as a result of the workforce “has not been interested in meeting my value.” Fans braced to say farewell to an athlete anticipated to be the following nice Baltimore star in a lineage that includes names reminiscent of Lewis, Ripken, Robinson and Unitas.
Instead, a tough negotiation ended abruptly, and the Ravens bought what DeCosta and coach John Harbaugh mentioned they wished all alongside — a transparent runway to construct round Jackson’s dazzling abilities as a runner and passer. Though the 2019 NFL Most Valuable Player has not completed both of the final two seasons due to accidents, he’s 45-16 because the Ravens’ starter, they usually have made the playoffs in 4 of his 5 seasons.
At their season-ending information convention in January, DeCosta and Harbaugh acknowledged the complexity of ongoing negotiations with Jackson however mentioned they have been decided to construct the franchise’s future round him.
“Everything we’ve done in terms of building our offense and building our team, how we think in terms of [bringing in] people and putting people around him is based on this incredible young man, his talent, his ability and his competitiveness,” Harbaugh mentioned. “I’ll have my fingers crossed, and my toes crossed, and I’ll be saying prayers. I have every faith that it’s going to get done, and we have the best people in the world doing it. Eric DeCosta, there’s nobody better. Eric wants him here, I want him here, [Ravens owner] Steve [Bisciotti] wants him here, and Lamar wants to be here. So, it’s going to work out.”
Though the extension is not going to give the Ravens room to spend exuberantly, it can give them flexibility.
“Any deal with Lamar is going to affect the salary cap, whether we get a long-term deal done or we do an exclusive franchise [tag] or the traditional franchise [tag], it’s going to affect the cap,” DeCosta mentioned in January. “Those are big, big numbers. We’re fortunate I think that we have a better salary cap [situation] than most. We have a lot more room than most teams do, which was by design three or four years ago.”
Teammates have been clear about what they need.
“You can’t let a guy like him go,” mentioned veteran defensive finish Calais Campbell, who has since launched and signed with the Atlanta Falcons. “I know it’s football and there’s always some new exciting toy, a new exciting kid that has potential to go out there and be great, but this is a for sure, a known. You know Lamar Jackson is an incredible player. I think it’s in the best interest of the Ravens organization to give him a long-term contract and make him our guy.”
Tight finish Mark Andrews joked on the Pro Bowl that he would donate his paycheck to maintain Jackson on the town.
The one key get together who mentioned little was Jackson, who has not spoken to reporters because the Friday earlier than he suffered a season-ending knee damage on the primary weekend of December. The Ravens made the playoffs and pushed the Cincinnati Bengals to the restrict within the wild-card spherical with Tyler Huntley at quarterback. But the uncertainty round Jackson’s subsequent step loomed over each recreation he didn’t play.
He final addressed his contract state of affairs in September, when he and the Ravens didn’t attain an extension settlement earlier than the season opener.
“I don’t know,” he mentioned when requested if a deal was shut. “I don’t know.”
Now that the uncertainty is previous, questions will flip to soccer issues reminiscent of Jackson’s match with new offensive coordinator Todd Monken and the Ravens’ Super Bowl prospects for 2023.
This story shall be up to date.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com