Latest Update on Ravens, Lamar Jackson Negotiations Gives Little

The Baltimore Ravens and their quarterback, Lamar Jackson, are working hard to reach a new contract extension.

Jackson is about to have a $74.5 million cap hit on the Ravens in each of the next two seasons, which would be a massive headache for a team looking to make other moves. They are trying to create cap space to re-sign top players, such as center Tyler Linderbaum.

While there are other big decisions the Ravens need to make, Jackson's contract is the domino that needs to fall first before anything else happens. Baltimore fans are wondering what is next for the contract situation between the Ravens and Jackson.

ESPN shares the update on what is going on with Ravens-Jackson contract talks

ESPN NFL reporter Dan Graziano shared what he heard from the NFL Combine about the Ravens and Jackson's negotiations. While there isn't much to add to the updates, Granziano breaks down what could happen and what could hold up the talks.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

"Baltimore would like to finalize a contract extension with quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has two years left on his deal at $53 million per season. He has $29 million of his 2026 salary guaranteed, but no other guarantees beyond that. And his salary cap number is set to swell to $74.5 million this year."

"The Ravens have automatic conversion rights in the contract, meaning they can add more void years, convert salary to signing bonuses and knock down this year's cap number by as much as $38 million -- and they don't need Jackson's permission to do it. Jackson's contract already has void years for 2028 and 2029, though, and Baltimore would prefer to do an extension and avoid dumping more cap charges into future years for which he's not yet signed. Jackson still doesn't use an agent, and that has led to some complications in these kinds of talks between him and the team in the past, so it's hard to handicap the Ravens' chances of getting it done."

Just a few years ago, Jackson and the Ravens struggled with contract negotiations with the original extension. That almost led to the team trading Jackson away, as he had requested to be moved, but, of course, they got a deal done.

Baltimore is desperate to get a deal done, as if they are not able to do so, knocking down the cap number for Jackson could leave a bad taste in his mouth. The Ravens want to make sure they are making their quarterback happy while setting the team up with a strong future.

While there isn't much to be concerned about right now, if nothing changes in the next week, there could be way more questions than there should be. Ravens fans should still expect a deal to get done soon enough.

Make sure you bookmark Baltimore Ravens On SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!