Ravens Renegotiated Lamar Jackson Contract Before Maxx Crosby Debacle

The Baltimore Ravens have certainly changed the whole complexity of the NFL after what happened with the Maxx Crosby trade.

It was announced by the Las Vegas Raiders that the Ravens had backed out of the Crosby trade that would have helped the AFC West team hold onto two first-round picks from Baltimore. The Ravens were reportedly worried about Crosby's failed physical, which led them to back out.

Part of the issue with bringing in Crosby was that the Ravens were going to be under the salary cap and have some moves to make, whether that is restructuring his contract or cutting players. One aspect of that was also going to be reworking star quarterback Lamar Jackson's contract, but those talks have taken longer than expected, with a slight change to that recently.

Ravens' update on Lamar Jackson contract talks

CBS Sports NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala reported that not only were the Ravens working with Jackson on his contract, but they got something done.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

"The Ravens renegotiated Lamar Jackson’s contract YESTERDAY to create more cap room, multiple sources tell me."

"They were clearly readying to onboard Maxx Crosby - until the medical assessment made the price of two first round picks too risky."

Jackson went into the offseason with a $74.5 million cap hit for 2026 and then 2027 again. It has been one of Baltimore's top priorities this offseason to ensure they have cap space to make other roster moves, such as bringing in Crosby.

The Ravens appeared to have gotten it done with Jackson on his new deal, but nothing else has been reported. That has to make Baltimore fans wonder if Jackson is backing out of the deal or if the Ravens have to once again rework the deal with him after Crosby.

With the recent news of Ravens signing Trey Hendrickson to a four-year, $112 million deal, it might be safe to assume that Jackson kept his reworked deal and won't back down from it. Baltimore still gets an elite edge rusher without giving up two first-round picks, so it should still make Jackson happy to be there.

It has been a wild 24 hours for the Ravens, as they went from flying Crosby into Baltimore for a physical to now having Hendrickson on the team, with Jackson having a reworked deal with no details on it. More should come from it, but Jackson appears to be a team player and has helped the Ravens create some cap space.

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