The Baltimore Ravens haven’t been shy about their desire to keep quarterback Lamar Jackson in purple and black for the foreseeable future, and GM Eric DeCosta maintained that stance while speaking to reporters Wednesday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
“We’ve probably made more trades than just about any other team in the league. Maybe we’re second,” DeCosta said, according to the team’s website. “That being said, I covet great players. I covet quarterbacks. And I love Lamar. So that has not factored in one time with me.
“We want to do what’s best for the club. We’re trying to do what we can for Lamar. We want to make everybody happy. We want to make the Ravens happy. I want to make (Owner) Steve (Bisciotti) happy. I want to make Lamar happy. I want to make our fans happy.”
In his news conference, DeCosta added that the Ravens are “optimistic” they’ll get a deal with Jackson done.
The GM wasn’t the only member of the organization sharing a desire to retain Jackson.
“He’s my quarterback, he’s my guy,” coach John Harbaugh told reporters. “I love him, and as a coach, I’m looking forward to seeing [a deal] get done.”
"He's my quarterback. I love him."
Coach Harbaugh on Lamar Jackson: pic.twitter.com/UAxzEmqsfE
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) March 1, 2023
In his end-of-season news conference in January, Harbaugh said the team was “200 percent” certain they’d sign Jackson to a long-term deal this offseason. That confidence doesn’t appear to have wavered.
Jackson played the 2022 season on his fifth-year option without an extension, while the stagnating negotiations overshadowed Baltimore’s disappointing season. The Ravens finished 10-7, good enough for a playoff berth, but they lost in the first round to the Cincinnati Bengals. Jackson missed the game because of a PCL injury that forced him to sit out the final five games of the regular season.
If the Ravens cannot negotiate an extension with Jackson before the March 7 window for teams to apply the franchise tag, Baltimore likely will tag Jackson and continue negotiations. DeCosta was noncommittal on which tag — the exclusive or non-exclusive — the Ravens would use.
>>Read: Top Franchise Tag Candidates of 2023 Offseason
Jackson reportedly seeks a fully guaranteed contract similar to Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson‘s. However, Baltimore hopes to sign Jackson to a more conventional contract like the extensions handed out to Matthew Stafford, Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson.
As it stands, Jackson is the No. 1 projected player in The 33rd Team’s Top 150 free agents of 2023.
