Lamar Jackson is entering his ninth year as the Baltimore Ravens quarterback. In that time, he won the league’s best player award twice and earned three All-Pro and four Pro Bowl selections, establishing himself as one of the best quarterbacks in football.
That being said, Jackson has yet to become an AFC Champion, let alone claim a Super Bowl winner’s medal. In the offseason, the Ravens made massive changes. Longtime head coach John Harbaugh was shown the exit and replaced by his former understudy Jesse Minter.
Even though ESPN gave Baltimore a favorable +1300 odds to win the Super Bowl in 2026, retired NFL safety TJ Ward can’t bring himself to believe that the Ravens can win a championship. Ward’s advice for Jackson is to force a move to a different team.
Lamar’s the man. That’s what I’mma start by saying: Get up out of Baltimore, bro. If you want your ultimate success, bro, you’re going to have to go somewhere else. And that’s just- I’m sorry to say it.
TJ Ward said in a recent segment of the Speakeasy YouTube show
Ward’s concern lies in Minter’s inexperience as a head coach. Minter has successfully put together top defenses at Baltimore and with the LA Chargers, but managing an entire 53-man roster is a different challenge altogether.
I don’t believe in his coaching staff. I don’t believe in the pieces they’re putting around them. I just I don’t see it happening there. And from his ultimate high what we seen in Lamar, I don’t think that reoccurs in the same manner that it has already happened in.
Ward said
CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards shared a in his latest article. Edwards noted that the aren’t as good as advertised. Baltimore extended Zay Flowers‘ contract, but he’s not in the same ballpark as some of the league’s top receivers, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Puka Nacua,CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
Baltimore may be hard-pressed to find six wide receivers to keep on the active 53-man roster and the recent arrest Rashod Bateman only complicates the numbers. The NFL is slow to make any judgments, but that situation is certainly worth monitoring.
Edwards wrote
The Ravens drafted former USC wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane and CFP champion Elijah Sarratt in the same draft. They also have speedsters Devontez Walker and LaJohntay Wester, who had decent preseasons. Rashod Bateman is also part of the roster for now, but with the assault charges looming over his head, he .
In March, the Ravens restructured Jackson’s contract to free up cap space for 2026. The new deal gave Jackson a $49.95 million signing bonus and a void year, bringing his total 2026 earnings to $52 million.
The 29-year-old also has a no-trade clause in his contract. So, if the Ravens decide to part ways with Jackson, they will have to give him an extension. Former NFL player and ESPN analyst Domonique Foxworth noted that on his podcast.
I don’t think it’s coincidence that Lamar [Jackson] had all that leverage [or has all that leverage] headed into this season and then a lot of changes were made… At the end of the season, he can decide what he wants to do…. If he wants to sign an extension [with the Ravens], or if they offer him an extension he doesn’t like, ‘Well, I’ll play for $80 million, or you trade me to exactly who I wanna go and play for.
Foxworth said
Back in July, Tom Pelissero, now with The Ringer, teased that Jackson could earn up to a mammoth $70 million in his new contract. It would make him the highest-paid player in football history.