The Baltimore Ravens have a very busy offseason. It’s one of the most important off-season’s in the history of the franchise, especially with whatever is slated to happen between the team and quarterback Lamar Jackson.
The apparent hope is for both sides to reach a long-term deal, but if not the franchise tag could work in the short-term. Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta was asked during his end-of-season press conference about his confidence that a deal could be reached in as soon as six weeks, and said that he “truly” believes that Jackson wants to finish his NFL career in Baltimore.
"I truly believe Lamar wants to finish his career in Baltimore." pic.twitter.com/040lDoTG36
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 19, 2023
“Just, I think, respect, our feelings about him, that we know him, we know the person, our confidence level that he is the right type of guy to lead the team and just optimism. I try to be positive. If you’re going into a negotiation with a negative feeling, then your chances of getting that done probably aren’t going to happen. We’ve done a lot of contracts. I think we’ve [done] the second-most extensions in the league over the last four years, so we know it can happen. We try to be creative and strategic, and I truly believe Lamar [Jackson] wants to finish his career in Baltimore. I just believe that in my conversations with him and just watching him and talking with him and communicating; I think [head coach] John [Harbaugh] feels that way, too. So, all of those things kind of work together for me that tell me that we still have a chance and that I should be as optimistic as possible.”
It will be interesting to see how Jackson would react if the team decides to place the franchise tag on him, especially if it were to be the exclusive one. There is still plenty of uncertainty surrounding Jackson’s situation, but if he returns to the team, they can begin to build a roster around him that gives the organization the best chance to win.
