Lamar Jackson didn’t play in any of the Baltimore Ravens’ final six games, including Sunday night’s 24-17 Wild Card loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. He is also a pending free agent, making it possible the last snap he ever played in black and purple was the one that resulted in a partial ligament tear and eventually sank the Ravens’ Super Bowl hopes.
Baltimore has officially entered its offseason. One priority stands alone above the rest; figuring out what to do its starting quarterback. The franchise balked at the idea of a fully guaranteed contract, but Kyler Murray’s 2022 extension and the $189.5 million in guarantees it included mean keeping the 2019 NFL MVP beyond the franchise tag will be a pricy proposition. After Jackson failed to make the trip to Cincinnati for Sunday’s loss, the chance of the former first round pick leaving Maryland is real, if not likely.
