Most Important Baltimore Ravens Extension Candidates Entering Training Camp

The Baltimore Ravens have a pair of clear-cut options whom they should try to get locked up for the long haul before the 2026 season starts.

Aug 16, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers (4) jokes with quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Baltimore Ravens have more players with something to prove entering actual or de facto contract years heading into the 2026 season than they do those who are deserving of new deals before it gets underway.

For players like coming off down near and needing to rebound like cornerback Marlon Humphrey and Roquan Smith, both of whom are four-time Pro Bowlers, this upcoming season is a make-or-break one that could decide if they will continue their respective careers in Charm City or not.

Meanwhile, some players are clear franchise cornerstones that the Ravens should and intend to lock up for the foreseeable future. Here are the two most obvious extension candidates entering training camp, as well as an honorable mention who could be a sneaky candidate to have his contractual situation addressed over the next month.

QB Lamar Jackson

May 4, 2023; Owings Mills, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta answers a question during a press conference alongside quarterback Lamar Jackson at Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Brent Skeen-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The clock is ticking for the Ravens to get a deal done with the two-time league MVP. As he has stated numerous times whenever asked about his contract status, both past and present, negotiations cease once the regular season gets underway so he can focus solely on playing to the best of his ability and put the team in a position to succeed.

While Jackson has another year left on his current deal and is technically signed through next season, his cap hit is slated to balloon to an untenable $84.3 million. Since it will be nearly impossible to field a competitive team next season with that kind of massive figure on the books, getting a deal done as soon as possible would make sense for both sides, seeing how their common goal remains winning a championship and owner Steve Bisciotti has already publicly stated that he's willing to make Jackson the highest-paid player in NFL history again like he did on his first big extension in 2023.

The Ravens' last negotiation process with Jackson was long and drawn out, featured a trade request and was complicated by an obvious case of collusion by the other owners in the league while he was on the non-exclusive franchise tag. Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes is currently the highest-paid player in the league with an average annual salary of $63.09 million.

The longer the Ravens wait, the higher that figure could climb, especially if history repeats itself and Jackson puts together another MVP-caliber campaign in his first season with a new offensive coordinator for the third time in his career.

WR Zay Flowers

Sep 7, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers (4) runs a sweep play in the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As for Jackson's favorite and most explosive playmaker in the passing game, this feels like a deal that is not only the closest but the most likely to get done during training camp. Both sides have spent all offseason talking about how they want to be committed to the other for the long haul. The framework for an extension is already in place following the new deal that the Atlanta Falcons signed Drake London to back in June that made him the third-highest-paid wideout in the league with an average annual salary of $35.2 million.

Flowers is the more accomplished of the two former first-rounders, with more Pro Bowls (two) and 1,000-yard receiving seasons (two) under his belt, despite entering the league a year later in 2023. Even though the fourth-year pro is under contract through the 2027 season after having his fifth-year option exercised this offseason, locking him into a new deal just north of London's at $35.5 million or even rounding up to $36 million could prove to look like somewhat of a bargain in short order.

If Flowers continues his upward trajectory and further ascends into the upper echelon of players at his position as a major focal point in the Ravens' passing attack under Declan Doyle, his asking price could begin to encroach on the $40-plus million a year range. The only two players currently occupying that space are the NFL's last two season leaders in receiving yards, Ja'Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals ($40.25) and reigning Offensive Player of the Year, Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks ($42.15).

Honorable mention

Oct 6, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Baltimore Ravens linebacker Tavius Robinson (95) celebrates a sack during the first half against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

OLB Tavius Robinson:

Of the Ravens set to play on expiring contracts in 2026, the former fourth-rounder is the only one who is coming off a career year. Despite missing seven games due to a broken foot injury, Robinson finished half a sack off the team lead with a new personal best of 4.5 in 10 games. Heading into the final year of his rookie deal, he is still slated to be the starter opposite of prized free agent acquisition Trey Hendrickson, as he remains an extremely stout edge setter against the run whose pass rush prowess and production have improved each year he's been in the league.

As much as Robinson has personified what it means to be a Raven with his toughness, work ethic and physicality, the two sides might not be in a rush to get a deal done for a couple of reasons.

From the team's perspective, they just drafted who could very well end up being his replacement in second-round rookie Zion Young, whose physical profile and playing style are similar to Robinson's, and he will be on a cost-controlled contract for the next four years. From the player's point of view, he is poised to benefit from the moves the Ravens made to upgrade and boost their defensive front and could wind up having another career year that would make any deal he'd strike in training camp look like an absolute steal by the end of the season.