What does future hold for Lamar Jackson and Ravens after topsy-turvy 2025?

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The Baltimore Ravens' whirlwind season could come to an end Sunday night, or it could continue and blossom into one of the more unlikely postseason berths -- and potentially postseason runs -- in recent memory.

After all, the Ravens started the season 1-5, a stretch that included Lamar Jackson suffering a hamstring strain that would cause him to miss three games. Then Baltimore roared back with five straight wins, though it was really more the defense's resurgence fueling the run. That winning streak ended in ignominious fashion, though, with a five-turnover loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thanksgiving. A week and a half later, the Ravens wasted several opportunities to take the AFC North lead in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

By Christmas, the Ravens were down two games to the Steelers with two games to play. Jackson, who had suffered a back contusion in a Week 16 loss to the New England Patriots, was out. Then Baltimore both delivered and received a present, leaning on Derrick Henry in a 41-24 win over the Green Bay Packers and then watching the Cleveland Browns upset the Steelers 13-6 to keep the AFC North race open.

That all has led to this: a Week 18 matchup in Pittsburgh, perhaps the biggest regular-season game of Jackson's career. Jackson returned to practice Wednesday and was a full participant, fueling the likelihood that he will suit up for Sunday night's winner-take-all game.

All the while, Jackson has not been up to his normal sterling standard, especially since returning from the hamstring injury. He's averaging just 21.8 rushing yards per game in seven games since the injury; from 2019-24, he averaged 63.0 rushing yards per game, roughly three times his current output. He has looked less nimble escaping pressure and less confident throwing the ball, too.

Lamar Jackson this season		Worst as starter since ...
Expected points added per dropback	0.02	2022
Off-target rate	14.1%	2021
Sack rate	10.4%	Ever
Sacks per pressure	22.8%	Ever
Negative play rate	13.3%	Ever

All of this has come with a backdrop of some reported contentiousness between Jackson and coach John Harbaugh. A column in The Baltimore Sun by former beat reporter Mike Preston stated Jackson falls asleep in meetings, stays up late playing video games and is the reason the Ravens practice in afternoons, not mornings. It also called Jackson an "overgrown kid," one whom Harbaugh had grown tired of.

"We don't take too much credence in anonymous-type sources," Harbaugh responded. "So, I don't know where that's coming from. I've never seen that ever. That's not something that I've ever witnessed, and I'm in every meeting. And to speculate on how I feel about it -- I'll tell you how I feel; I'm pretty transparent. I think all the guys in the building will tell you if I have something that I want to talk to them about, I'm right upfront. So, that would be wrong to say that. That's not true. I had a great conversation with Lamar this morning about a few things and football and how he's feeling, things like that. So, our relationship is 'A+.' I love him. I always have, always will."

Regardless of whether Jackson plays Sunday or he doesn't, whether the Ravens win or they don't, whether this season ends in confetti or ends in frustration, Baltimore will have a big task this offseason: figuring Jackson's contract and, in turn, future with the team.

That could be an adventure given how the negotiations leading up to his last contract extension went, how this past offseason went and how this season has gone.

Lamar Jackson set to return from back injury for Ravens' AFC North showdown vs. Steelers

Zachary Pereles

2021, 2022: Ravens, Jackson don't reach contract extension

Jackson became extension-eligible after the 2020 season, his third in the league. By then, he had already become the youngest quarterback to win MVP in NFL history, and he did so in unanimous fashion. The Ravens, as expected, exercised Jackson's fifth-year option on his rookie deal.

"I would love to be here forever," Jackson said from minicamp in May 2021. "I love Baltimore. I love the whole organization. I love everybody in the building. But hopefully we'll be making something happen pretty soon or whenever. Being honest, I'm really focused on the season. I'm focused on trying to win. I'm not really worried about if it gets done this year or next year. I'm just trying to build and stack, and we're going to see. We don't know yet."

A month later, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported that Jackson was negotiating without an agent and instead doing so alongside his mother, Felicia Jones. That had been the case when Jackson signed his rookie deal, too, but unlike that deal, this one was in line to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. His rookie deal was for four years and $9.47 million.

After 2021 ended in disappointment -- Jackson suffered a late-season ankle injury, and the Ravens missed the postseason -- Harbaugh, GM Eric DeCosta and owner Steve Bisciotti expressed a desire to extend Jackson's contract but also that they couldn't make Jackson come to the table.

"Unless he has a change of heart and calls Eric and says 'I'm ready,' Eric can't keep calling him and say, 'You really need to get in here,'" Bisciotti said in March 2022. "That's not a GM's job."

One day later, Jackson addressed the "false narratives" around the situation.

"I love my Ravens," Jackson wrote. "I don't know who the hell (is) putting that false narrative out that I'm having thoughts about leaving. Stop (trying to) read my mind."

This episode all occurred around the time the Cleveland Browns giving Deshaun Watson a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract, which certainly could have impacted what Jackson was looking for in his next deal.

In June, Jackson said he expected to play for Baltimore for his entire career. Then, in July, Kyler Murray got a five-year, $230.5 million extension. One month after that, reports emerged that the Ravens had offered Jackson more than that. Later, reports said Jackson had turned down a deal that would have topped Russell Wilson's $49 million per year.

But the start of the 2022 season came, and Jackson and the Ravens shut down extension talks. Shortly thereafter, Jackson said he wouldn't answer contract-related questions for the rest of the campaign.

"Respectfully, I'm really done talking about it," Jackson said. "I told you guys before I was going to be done with it Week 1. Week 1 is over with; we're done talking about it. I'm focused on the Dolphins now."

2023: Jackson requests trade, ultimately signs five-year, $260 million extension

Jackson's 2022 season came to a premature end when he suffered a PCL sprain in Week 13. Harbaugh said it wouldn't be a season-ending injury, but Jackson missed the rest of the regular season and then ruled himself out of the team's wild card game against the Bengals, which Baltimore lost.

Baltimore, however, remained committed to their star quarterback, per reports, but appeared likely to use the franchise tag on him.

"You can't let a guy like him go," then-Ravens defensive end Calais Campbell said.

Things got worse before they got better. In early March, the team used the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson, allowing him to negotiate with other teams. A few weeks later, Jackson sent shockwaves throughout the NFL, tweeting that he had requested a trade earlier in the month.

"I want to first thank you all for all of the love and support you consistently show towards me. All of you are amazing and I appreciate y'all so much. I want you all to know not to believe everything you read about me. Let me personally answer your questions in regards to my future plans. As of March 2nd I requested a trade from the Ravens organization for which the Ravens has not been interested in meeting my value, any and everyone that's has met me or been around me know I love the game of football and my dream is to help a team win the super bowl. You all are great but I had to make a business decision that was best for my family and I. No matter how far I go or where my career takes me, I'll continue to be close to my fans of Baltimore Flock nation and the entire State of Maryland. You'll See me again."

Harbaugh, at NFL owners meetings, didn't bite.

"I haven't seen the tweet," Harbaugh said, via NFL Media. "It's an ongoing process. I'm following it very closely, just like everybody else is here and looking forward to a resolution. I'm excited. Thinking about Lamar all the time. Thinking about him as our quarterback. We're building our offense around that idea. I'm just looking forward to getting back to football and I'm confident that's going to happen."

Potential suitors looked elsewhere, though, and DeCosta said the Ravens weren't considering trading Jackson anyway. In late April, Jackson signed a five-year, $260 million extension with Baltimore.

"For the last few months, there's been a lot of he said, she said. A lot of nail biting, a lot of head scratching going on," Jackson said in a video celebrating the news. "But for the next five years, it's a lot of Flock going on. Let's go, baby. Let's go. Let's go, man. Can't wait to get there, can't wait to be there. Can't wait to light up M&T for the next five years, man. Let's get it."

After the deal, Jackson said he always wanted to remain a Raven and his trade request was "just getting the ball rolling" and "part of business."

2025: More negotiations, no extension

Jackson won another MVP in 2023 and was then even better in 2024, though Josh Allen ended up winning MVP even though Jackson was the first-team All-Pro selection, an exceedingly rare discrepancy.

In March 2025, Harbaugh said that the team had held internal discussions about an extension. Not only is Jackson due for a raise -- his $52 million per year is 10th-highest in the NFL -- but with Jackson's cap hit set to skyrocket to $74.5 million in 2026, the Ravens need to get that number down.

In May, though, Jackson took to Instagram with a cryptic post.

"Once I show my love they show me why they don't deserve it, right then soon as I put my guard down that's when they hurt me," Jackson wrote.

DeCosta said the team had "introductory" conversations with Jackson but didn't delve into specifics. Ahead of the 2025 season beginning, Jackson said he wasn't concerned with negotiating, striking a similar tone to the one he employed ahead of 2022.

"The season's here," Jackson said. "I'm not worried about that. You were better off asking me that during camp. But I'm locked in. I'm ready for the season to start. That time will come."

What's next?

The Ravens cannot and will not go into 2026 with Jackson's $74.5 million cap hit. In 2025, Dak Prescott had the league's highest cap hit at $50.5 million. In May, former NFL agent Joel Corry outlined how Jackson could proceed.

That, of course, was before this turbulent season began. Jackson not only missed the three games with a hamstring injury and the one game with a back contusion, but he has nursed ankle, toe and knee injuries. He has had just one full week of practice since returning from the hamstring injury.

In his column in the Sun, Preston lambasted Jackson's off-field hobbies and work ethic as well as the Ravens' difference in "team rules" and "rules for Jackson." He said the Ravens should explore trading Jackson. Harbaugh's response forcibly refuted Preston's reports.

Still, Jackson's health has been an issue.

""I mean for sure? I'm saying so, but I don't know," Harbaugh said ahead of the team's bye about Jackson returning after the bye. "That's how life is sometimes. You can't predict everything. It's still the future, but that's the hope."

Jackson didn't return, and the Ravens paid the price: After listing him as a full participant and questionable for the game, the Ravens changed his participation to "limited" and later ruled him out. The NFL fined the Ravens $100,000.

After beating the Bears without Jackson, Habraugh bristled when asked about whether Jackson would return the next week.

"You know what? I'm hopeful. I'm just going to say that I'm hopeful. As a coach, what you do is you ask. 'How is he doing?' That's about as much as you do. How are we doing, back to practice, you put them in there and you practice them. That's how it works. On the coaching side, coaches aren't involved with statuses and whether the guys play or not. That's not a coaching decision."

"I don't know what cleared means," he responded later. "He wasn't available for this game. He was declared out, that's the status."

Jackson did return the next week, in a win against Miami. He has been up-and-down ever since, though. He was clearly upset after a sluggish win over the New York Jets in Week 12, but Harbaugh had his back there.

"Utmost confidence in Lamar Jackson," Harbaugh said. "I always will. He's my guy, he's our guy, he's our quarterback. Lamar is doing what he needs to do. He is winning football games. It's not always pretty. I don't know how many times in the last however many years where we've had wins like this where we've gotten up here and have said, 'It's not pretty, it's not perfect, but it's us. It's competing and fighting.' And that's what Lamar is doing. The pretty games will be there. They'll be there for Lamar Jackson; you can bet on that. But I'm proud of him right now. I'm really proud of him and the way he's fighting to win football games."

He'll have to fight through an injury to play -- and, if he does, win -- in a must-win Week 18 game. More big decisions await, but for now, the focus will be on rescuing a difficult season and giving the preseason Super Bowl favorites a shot. Another referendum on Jackson's electric, historic and mercurial career in Baltimore awaits.