The Baltimore Ravens are shaking up their salary cap with a pivotal decision on Lamar Jackson’s contract, a move that comes just as they lock in their quarterback depth for the upcoming season. With free agency just hours away, the Baltimore front office is making a tactical move involving their QB1 to give them the best chance in the open market.

“The #Ravens renegotiated Lamar Jackson’s contract YESTERDAY to create more cap room, multiple sources tell me,” Aditi Kinkhabwala reported via X. “They were clearly readying to onboard Maxx Crosby  until the medical assessment made the price of two first-round picks too risky.”

The Baltimore Ravens kick-started the offseason with a bang as they reportedly agreed to a massive package, involving first-round picks in 2026 and 2027, to the Raiders for Crosby. However, on March 10, the Raiders announced that the Ravens “backed out” of the deal, which led to them pursuing Trey Hendrickson instead.

The deal reportedly fell through after the star defensive end couldn’t pass the medical procedure to complete the trade. But before the Maxx Crosby deal was called off, the Baltimore Ravens worked on restructuring Lamar Jackson’s contract to improve their cap space for continuing their Super Bowl pursuit after missing the playoffs last season.

After starting the year as a possible Lombardi Trophy contender, the Ravens had a 1-5 record after six games. This poor start held Baltimore back, as the last game of the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers turned out to be a decider where the Steel City emerged victorious after a missed field goal by Tyler Loop.

While the entire roster took the blame for this disappointing year, Lamar Jackson emerged as one of the bigger reasons for the poor season. The Ravens’ QB1 put forth a dismal performance in an injury-riddled year.

2025 was Lamar’s third-lowest in completion percentage (63.6%) and passing yards (2,549), and also his fourth-lowest in touchdown passes (21) after featuring in 13 games as he missed time with injuries to his back and hamstring, among other lingering issues.

These troubles have left room for concern. After a stellar 2024 4,000+ yard MVP campaign, the franchise will surely want to have backup options around the quarterback and other key positions.

Ahead of the 2026 season, with Jackson and the Ravens hoping to make massive improvements, the franchise has restructured Jackson’s deal, converting cash into bonus money as his 2026 cap hit stands at $74.5 million, the second-highest in the NFL. These steps will help clear more than $30 million in immediate cap space.

At the NFL Scouting Combine, general manager Eric DeCosta addressed this decision and revealed that a deal will soon take place.

“Lamar and I have an agreement: we handle business kind of in-house internally,” DeCosta noted. “That worked well for us the last time, and we will continue to have that policy moving forward.”

As the Ravens look to rework Lamar Jackson’s contract, the franchise has taken another step to add insurance for its quarterback room by bringing back a backup signal-caller who proved his worth in the limited opportunities he received last season.

Baltimore to re-sign backup quarterback on $11 million deal

Before acting on a restructure involving their star quarterback, the Ravens chose to secure their backup.

With Lamar Jackson missing four games, the Ravens opted to hand the offense to Cooper Rush last year, which immediately led to two losses in his starts. Hence, a decision was made to start their QB3.

Tyler Huntley put forth an efficient performance in his two starts. With Huntley hitting free agency, these efforts have paid off with the Ravens offering him a new two-year deal worth up to $11 million.

Notably, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, the agreement carries a base value of $5 million and could climb to $11 million with incentives. While this may be a slight overpay for a backup quarterback, Huntley has proved his worth by delivering wins in two crucial games.

First was October’s 30-16 win versus the Chicago Bears, where Huntley recorded 186 yards, scored a touchdown, and also ran for 53 yards.

Then, in a must-win game against the Green Bay Packers in December, the shot-caller completed 80% of his passes (16 of 20), threw for 107 yards, and also scored a touchdown while leading the Ravens to a 41-24 win.

With Lamar Jackson’s contract restructured and Tyler Huntley re-signed, the Baltimore Ravens are wasting no time piecing together a contender ahead of the 2026 season. After a disappointing year, the front office is making all the right moves to ensure last season’s struggles remain a thing of the past.