Lamar Jackson Rumors: Ravens QB Not 'In Any Rush at All' to Sign New Contract

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has one year remaining on his current deal, isn't "in any rush at all" to sign a new contract, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said Thursday. 

"There's a couple reasons. We have seen, and this is just my read on the situation from all the information I know, we've seen players, Kirk Cousins is one, Dak Prescott is another, use the franchise tag and the sort of shoulder shrug of 'maybe I'm not quite ready to do a deal yet' to use it as a weapon to maximize their contract leverage."

Jackson, who does not have an agent and is representing himself in discussions, is currently set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2022 season. 

Rapoport's comments come after Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said Wednesday that there had been no movement on contract negotiations with Jackson. In addition, he said the franchise would work "at Lamar's urgency," according to ESPN's Jamison Hensley.

"I think it takes two sides to actively put their heads together and get a deal worked out," DeCosta said. "We are ready to be there for Lamar at any point when he decides that he really wants to work on it, we will be."

However, DeCosta appeared optimistic about the Ravens eventually coming to terms with Jackson on a new deal, telling reporters he believes the 2018 first-round pick "can help us win Super Bowls."

Jackson is in line to receive a massive extension. The Buffalo Bills signed Josh Allen to a six-year, $258 million deal in August, and other quarterbacks such as Prescott and Patrick Mahomes have also received significant deals in recent years. 

ESPN's Dan Graziano reported in July that Jackson could receive somewhere between $40 million and $45 million per year on his next contract. That would put him in the same category as Mahomes ($45 million AAV), Allen ($43 million AAV) and Prescott ($40 million AAV).

However, Jackson had a below-average 2021 season, by his standards. The 25-year-old completed 64.4 percent of his passes for 2,882 yards and 16 touchdowns against a career-high 13 interceptions. He also rushed for 767 yards and two touchdowns after running for more than 1,000 yards and seven scores during the 2019 and 2020 campaigns. 

Jackson did miss five games last season, but he struggled to get into a groove when healthy. If he has hopes of landing a significant extension, he might be hoping for a breakout 2022 season in order to maximize the deal. 

Regardless, there have been no signs of Jackson leaving Baltimore any time soon, and the two sides should be able to come to an agreement.