How much would you give up to get one of the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks of all time in his prime?
ESPN’s Dan Graziano predicts that’s a question some NFL teams will have to ask themselves this offseason if Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson ends up as a possible trade option.
Jackson still has 2 years remaining on the 5-year, $260 million contract extension he signed in April 2023 but is in line for another new extension this summer — something the Ravens were loathe to do the first time around.
“It is time to address Lamar’s contract again,” Graziano said on Tuesday, December 23. “He has 2 years left with no guarantees and if they do nothing at all, the cap number for him is $75 million after next year, so they need to either extend him or see if they want to take it out for a spin on the trade market … look, it’s year 8 with him as a starter and they have 3 playoff wins with Lamar Jackson with teams built entirely around him. Maybe they start to think he’s just not going to ever get it done.”
What Jackson might draw back in a trade could be seismic. Think something along the lines of another established starting quarterback plus a pair of first round draft picks … depending who the established other starter is.
Nightmare Season for Jackson, Ravenns
The 2025 season has been arguably the worst of Jackson’s career. The Ravens entered the season as Super Bowl contenders but stumbled to a 1-5 start and are 7-8 with 2 regular season games remaining.
The Ravens might not even have Jackson for those 2 games. He suffered a serious back contusion and was knocked out of the game in the first half of a 28-20 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 16 and is now day-to-day headed into a Week 17 road game against the Green Bay Packers.
Jackson missed 3 games earlier this season with a hamstring injury.
In order to make the playoffs, the Ravens would have to defeat the Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers in their final 2 games along with have the Steelers lose to the Cleveland Browns in Week 17.
Another Option: Fire Harbaugh, Get Jackson Paid
Perhaps the best option for the Ravens might be to let Jackson have a chance with a new head coach after spending his entire career to this point with John Harbaugh.
In one embarrassing incident before a Week 8 game against the Chicago Bears, the Ravens were fined $100,000 for incorrectly listing Jackson as a full participant during a Friday practice before a Sunday game — despite Jackson only taking scout team reps — and he didn’t play in the game.
“Do (Ravens head coach) John Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson even talk to each other?” Fox Sports host Nick Wright asked during an appearance on “The Bill Simmons Podcast” on Thursday, December 11. ” … Harbaugh was like ‘We’re going to have our quarterback (against the Bears).’ Then he doesn’t come back. And when he does come back he has all these little random injuries that cause him to sit out practices and he’s not the same player he was … I think Lamar is over all of it and he’s checked out and he’s ready for a new regime.”
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