Ravens Insider: How Ravens offseason moves will depend on Lamar Jackson’s contract status

[ExtremeRavens]

The Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy that Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti and general manager Eric DeCosta had hoped to be adding to Baltimore’s own display case.

But with that dream long ago dashed by an ignominious season and a missed playoff berth that led to the firing of the NFL’s second-longest-tenured and the franchise’s winningest coach, the clock has already been ticking on Baltimore’s most pressing problem as it relates to trying to achieve that goal.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is under contract for each of the next two seasons, is due to make $74.5 million in 2026 and 2027, a massive increase from the $43.5 million salary cap number he played on in 2025. With such a prohibitive figure — only Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes are slated to have bigger cap hits — and the start of the new league year on March 11 looming, the coming days and weeks will be paramount to the Ravens’ plans.

Simply put, Baltimore is like a large luxury home that has been around a long time — it has a lot of needs and requires a lot of money to address them. Even with an influx of salary cap space as the league’s limit is set to jump from $279.2 million to somewhere between $301.2 million and $305.7 million, DeCosta will have to be judicious with his spending when it comes to addressing needs for pass rush upgrades, offensive line improvements and help at cornerback and wide receiver, among other positions.

All of it, of course, starts with Jackson. Like any star quarterback, the 29-year-old two-time NFL Most Valuable Player will command the highest chunk of cap space on the roster — roughly 25% under the terms of his five-year, $260 million extension that he signed in 2023.

With Jackson set to enter his ninth season and using history as a guide, there are perhaps only a few more seasons left in which he will be an elite and dynamic runner. That doesn’t mean he can’t still be a top-tier operator — Randall Cunningham and Steve Young are two examples of mobile quarterbacks who continued to play at a high level into their mid-30s — but his success at some point in the near future will be much more connected to his passing than his running.

For now, his superpower as a runner remains, which is why Bisciotti says that he’d like “another window” with Jackson and his contract.

The good news for Baltimore — aside from more wiggle room with a new financial ceiling — is that there are myriad ways to make Jackson’s contract more palatable and roster-friendly.

Extension or restructure?

The most straightforward and preferred way? Sign him to an extension.

What would that look like and what could it result in?

Signing Jackson to a deal that would extend beyond 2028 would create somewhere around $25 million to $35 million in room, depending on how the contract is structured. That wouldn’t necessarily result in the biggest savings, though.

Restructuring his 2026 salary, as Russell Street Report cap guru Brian MacFarland notes, would open up just over $38 million in savings. The downside, however, is that it doesn’t secure Jackson for the long-term and it pushes another $38 million onto both the 2027 and 2028 cap. It does, at least, make those problems for another day.

If the two sides can’t come to an agreement on either scenario, the Ravens will have to find other ways to shed money while carrying such a large cap hit for Jackson.

Whatever happens with Jackson’s contract, though, Baltimore is inclined to make some moves this offseason that will free up some money to increase its spending power on some potential “big ticket” items, as DeCosta called them. With the new cap, the Ravens are currently projected to have about $22 million (which includes roughly $10 million of carryover from 2025) in salary cap space — though that number accounts for only the 48 players currently under contract and the amount of space would shrink when the Rule of 51 is applied.

With 19 of its own unrestricted free agents, including Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum, All-Pro punter Jordan Stout, Pro Bowl fullback Pat Ricard, cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, outside linebacker Dre’Mont Jones, and tight ends Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar, Baltimore will have to carve out some money for some of its own players. Linderbaum would far and away be the priciest, with the 2021 first-round draft pick and three-time Pro Bowl selection expected to fetch around $17 million a year on the open market.

That also doesn’t account for any outside additions the Ravens make. A top-tier pass rusher such as Trey Hendrickson, who led the NFL in sacks in 2024, would be even more expensive at around $25 million. The uncertainty around Ravens defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike and his neck injury also could make things complicated, though perhaps there is positive news on that front given his recent social media post.

Still, there are other ways to clear up cap space.

Roster ripple effects

The two most obvious salary cap casualties on the roster are defensive tackle Broderick Washington and cornerback Marlon Humphrey. Jettisoning them immediately would clear up about $11 million, or roughly $23 million if done with a post-June 1 designation, with Humphrey accounting for $19.25 million in savings post-June 1 and just $7 million in dead money for 2026.

With Humphrey turning 30 in July and his play dipping this past season, parting ways now would be the classic example of moving on a year early rather than a year too late. Washington, who will turn 30 in early December and appeared in just three games because of an Achilles tendon injury in 2025, simply hasn’t been productive enough since the Ravens signed him to a three-year, $17.5 million extension in 2023.

Beyond them, there aren’t a lot of logical releases that would clear up chunks of space, though.

Releasing running back Justice Hill would save $3.15 million, as one example. But he’s been a versatile and dependable player who is vital in pass protection.

Important in that equation, though, is former undrafted free agent Keaton Mitchell, who is Baltimore’s lone restricted free agent.

Even before Hill went on injured reserve with a neck injury this past season, Mitchell’s usage had started to increase. That will make for an interesting decision for the Ravens.

There are a few options, including a first-, second-, or right-of-first-refusal tender.

Forget the first one, because at roughly $7.8 million, that’s too much for a boutique player with an injury history. A second-round tender, though, will cost about $5.8 million, while the low tender would be about $3.5 million.

Importantly, though, because Mitchell was undrafted, the low tender would not net Baltimore a draft pick should it decline to match another team’s offer.

That means a second-round tender could be an option, or Baltimore could sign him to a short extension, which would also provide a lower salary cap hit than a second-round tender and keep him in the fold longer. If Mitchell is not tendered, he would become an unrestricted free agent, allowing him to test his market value.

How the Ravens handle Mitchell could be an indicator of what they plan to do with Hill, especially if there are any lingering concerns over his neck injury and if the feeling is that Mitchell or fellow back Rasheen Ali can develop into serviceable pass blockers. Star running back Derrick Henry, coming off two highly productive seasons in Baltimore, is set to count $16.2 million against the cap entering his age-33 season.

But nothing is more significant than what happens with Jackson, and the Ravens would like to get something done sooner rather than later.

“We want another window, and Lamar knows that,” Bisciotti said. “I think he is amenable to doing something that mirrors the last deal that he did, although the annual number will be a little higher. But I’m hoping that it’s plug in your number in the same contract he signed [in 2023] and move on.

“The urgency of that matters to me because we’ve got free agents, and I don’t want to go into free agency with that hanging over our head. I made that clear to Lamar, and I think he was very appreciative of my stance, and hopefully, willing to work with Eric and not get this thing dragged out into April like it was the last time.”

Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1.

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