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Could Lamar Jackson’s time in Baltimore be nearing an end? Is there a chance the quarterback has played his final game for the Ravens?
There’s real reason to believe so.
Jackson sustained a back injury in Baltimore’s 28-24 defeat to the New England Patriots. He has yet to practice this week as the Ravens prepare for a must-win game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. If they lose, and their postseason chances become mathematically impossible, there would be little point to Jackson returning for a meaningless Week 18 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Moreso, if the Ravens lose out and finish the season under .500 for the first time since 2021, wholesale changes could be on the horizon. Head coach John Harbaugh could be fired and Jackson could be traded. It’s been 13 seasons since Harbaugh led the Ravens to a Super Bowl XLVII victory with quarterback Joe Flacco. And while he and Jackson have enjoyed regular-season success, they haven’t found the right formula to win a ring.
Harbaugh signed a three-year extension in March and Jackson has two years remaining on a five-year deal. Getting rid of the duo would be tricky. Harbaugh would be given a hefty buyout as he’s set to make $17 million per year, while Jackson’s contract ($51.2 million AAV) doesn’t match the caliber of his play this season, and might not result in as valuable of a trade package as it once would.
On the other hand, the Ravens might have no choice but to count their losses and move on from a coach-QB pairing that’s grown bland. Harbaugh has been bested by a different counterpart — Sean McDermott, Andy Reid and Zac Taylor — in each of the last three postseason runs. Jackson doesn’t look like himself anymore. After returning from a hamstring injury that kept him out for three games earlier this season, he’s completed just 59.8% of his passing attempts, thrown eight touchdowns and five interceptions, and averaged just 21.8 rushing yards per game, which is his calling card.
Prior to this new back injury, despite being almost two months removed from the hamstring recovery, Jackson struggled to scramble at the level he used to, diminishing his versatility, and with it, his ceiling. If Jackson can’t torment defenses with his legs, he becomes one-dimensional and predictable.
Is Lamar Jackson’s inability to stay healthy costing the Ravens? | First Things First
An eight-week sample size is long enough for a franchise to grow concerned that Jackson may have moved into a different phase of his career. The cap hit — $74.5 million for each of the next two season — is too significant to cut bait, so if the Ravens want to make a change at quarterback, it would likely have to come via a pennies-on-the-dollar trade.
So now the question is, do the Ravens make a move?
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