Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson says he and the team still have time to work out a long-term contract extension. But not a lot of time.
Jackson said today that the sides are still talking about a new contract, but by the end of the week his focus will be on Sunday’s game against the Jets, and beyond that he plans to focus solely on football and not talk contract during the season.
“We’re still talking. The week’s not over yet, but soon. Soon will probably be the deadline. Probably be cut off after this week,” Jackson said.
Jackson added that he doesn’t know how close the sides are to a deal. It’s tough to know where things stand with Jackson and the Ravens in part because Jackson is taking the highly unusual step of negotiating his contract without the help of an agent. An experienced agent who had negotiated other big contracts would probably have a fairly good idea of whether the two sides are close enough to get a deal done before the season, but Jackson has never done this before.
If a deal doesn’t get done by the end of this week, that likely means the sides will stop talking, and Jackson will play out the fifth and final year of his rookie contract before resuming talks with the Ravens after the season -- or beginning talks with other teams after hitting free agency in March.