We don’t know whether Lamar Jackson has played his last snap for the Baltimore Ravens. Yet, the quarterback’s future with the team has become a talking point after he left the Week 8 matchup against the Buffalo Bills following a thumb injury on the first play of his day. At the same time, the quarterback is expected to sign a new contract as he will enter the final season of his contract in 2027.
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That certainly makes you wonder whether the Ravens would invest heavily in their franchise quarterback amid multiple injuries over the last few seasons. Trey Wingo, Cris Carter, Marvin Lewis, and Steve Keim recently addressed Jackson’s future with the Ravens. They pointed out that, despite the injury concerns, Jackson has leverage over his future with the team.
He has a no-trade and no-tag clause in his current contract. But at the same time, the numbers make things complicated for Baltimore, as he has the second-highest cap hit in 2027 at $84.34 million. However, when Keim was asked about the numbers and how it can affect the Ravens, the former Arizona Cardinals general manager gave a telling answer dating back to when Jackson wasn’t even drafted in the NFL.
“In my 10 years as a general manager, Lamar Jackson is the only player that I ever had refused to take a pre-draft visit, which is, you know, again, who are you surrounding yourself with? That’s number one,” said Keim on the Inside Football Podcast, while talking about Jackson’s future with the Ravens amid his injury issues and approaching contract extension.
Unlike any other NFL player, Lamar Jackson doesn’t have an agent. In fact, the two-time MVP represents himself. That was evident in 2018 when multiple teams tried to reach out to him for pre-draft visits, but failed to do so. Ahead of the 2018 NFL Draft, one team reportedly tried to contact Jackson seven times.
However, the team failed to reach him. Whether that team was the Keim-led Cardinals isn’t clear. However, it’s safe to say Jackson not having an agent has once again become a problem for the Ravens. For broader context, over the last six seasons, Lamar Jackson has suffered multiple injuries, prompting him to miss a total of 18 games so far.
In that stretch, the quarterback has suffered ankle, hamstring, back, knee, and thumb injuries. While he returned to play against the Buffalo Bills, he left the field after suffering a thumb injury. He will undergo surgery as the Ravens placed him on IR. And according to head coach Jesse Minter, the surgery is “potentially” season-ending.
That’s where Lamar Jackson’s contract extension negotiations come into play. The Ravens have remained optimistic about reaching a new deal with their quarterback. At the same time, however, the team doesn’t have an agent it can speak with about Jackson’s injury concerns and how they’re affecting the organization. With that in mind, Steven Keim has suggested an approach Baltimore should consider if it plans to extend Jackson.
“Number two, you know, to me, he’s ran into a lot of unfortunate injuries, okay? And he’s a relatively young guy, still at the position,” Keim added. “The one thing that I would have to do if I was a general manager of the Baltimore Ravens is to do what’s best for the organization, and that’s if you’re doing a long-term contract moving forward, you’ve got to put per-game roster bonuses in there to make sure he’s on the field. But at the same time, as you just said, there are 32 teams, and there’s probably 10 real quarterbacks, and Lamar Jackson’s one of them.”
It’s the script that Keim had followed when he was the Cardinals’ general manager. Arizona extended former Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray on a five-year, $230.5 million contract extension with $160 million guaranteed. At the same time, however, the deal included $9.3 million in offseason workout bonuses and $4.3 million ($850,000 per year and $50,000 per game from 2024 to 2028) in per-game-played roster bonuses.
Considering Lamar Jackson’s injury issues, Keim suggests the Ravens should consider this approach. But for now, it remains to be seen what Jackson’s future will look like in Baltimore. For now, the quarterback’s return for the rest of the 2026 season remains uncertain.