Lamar Jackson 'Balked' at Ravens' Contract Negotiations, New NFL Rumors Reveal After Injury

Lamar Jackson's future—both for this season, after he suffered a thumb injury on Sunday that will require surgery and a stint on injured reserve, and beyond—is very much in question.

According to Albert Breer of SI.com, "My understanding has been that the Ravens wanted to negotiate a long-term extension with Jackson after [new head coach Jesse Minter] got the job. Jackson balked. He also has a no-tag clause in his contract. So if he wants to hit the market as an unfettered free agent in 2028, all he really has do is... nothing. If he plays it out, and wants to get to the market, health-permitting, he can. In that scenario, would he look to go home to Miami? It's a ways off, and I'd expect the Ravens to make a real effort to get him locked up. But again, he holds a lot of the cards here."

Jackson, 29, has appeared in just five games this season and only played in one snap during Sunday's 36-10 loss against the Buffalo Bills. He also missed four games last season. Since 2021, he's missed four games or more in a season on four separate occasions, and the 2026 campaign is shaping up to be the fewest games he's ever played in a season during his career.

And the 2027 season is complicated. As Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic noted, because Jackson and the Ravens didn't come to terms on a contract extension in the offseason, "the team restructured his contract instead. As a result, his cap number rises to $84-plus million in 2027, a bloated figure that would make it untenable for [general manager Eric DeCosta] and the front office to construct the rest of the roster."

That would be alleviated with an offseason extension, but Jackson has already seemingly balked at signing one and now the Ravens have to take his injury history into account. It will certainly be a storyline to track in Baltimore over the next year.