"He's your franchise, so get the contract done now" - NFL analyst on why the Ravens should work to sign Lamar Jackson now

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson will be playing this season in the final year of his contract and isn't expected to get a new deal until after the season.

Mike Tannenbaum spoke about Jackson and the Ravens on Get Up and thinks the Ravens should strike a deal with Jackson now. Tannenbaum said:

"When we take a half step back, get his contract done and I think that would relieve a big pressure point. He's an MVP player. He's a young dynamic player, he's your franchise, so get the contract done now.

He went on to say:

It's enormously complicated because he doesn't have an agent, but with Deshaun Watson signing in your own division, we know what the deal should be."

Lamar Jackson, unlike most NFL players, doesn't have an agent and he represents himself.

In the off-season, the quarterback market got reset. When the Cleveland Browns acquired Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans, they signed him to a record-breaking contract. The Browns signed Watson to a five-year $230 million deal that is fully guaranteed, which is the largest fully-guaranteed contract in history.

If Jackson has another good season, he could demand more money than Watson, as there have been no red flags in his career.

The Baltimore Ravens signed head coach John Harbaugh to a three-year contract extension this off-season

Baltimore Ravens Training Camp

During the off-season, one important cornerstone to the Ravens was extended. Head coach John Harbaugh agreed to a new three-year extension with the team this off-season, locking him through the 2025 season.

Harbaugh is grateful and wants to win more championships with the Ravens. Harbuagh said:

“A sense of gratitude for working in this organization. It’s a great place to be. Love the city. Very motivated in the sense that we need to win more games. We need to win more playoff games. We need to win championships."

He went on to say:

Helping our team be the best we can be, doing what everybody can do — you feel a big sense of responsibility and obligation. Gratitude, yes, but more than that, really determined to get us all where we want to be.”

While Harbuagh is locked in until 2025, the next important person the Ravens need to extend is quarterback Lamar Jackson. Last season, like the Ravens franchise in general, Jackson struggled a little. The Ravens were hit with several season-ending injuries early on and were constantly plagued with continuous injuries week in and week out.

They finished 8-9 and were only eliminated from playoff contention on the last day of the season. Marquise Brown dropped some huge and important passes which could have altered the story for Baltimore. The quarterback finished the season with 2,882 yards, 16 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He also rushed for 767 yards and two touchdowns.

His career stats highlight his importance to the Ravens. Since 2018 he has thrown for 9,967 yards, 84 touchdowns and 31 interceptions. However, that is only half the story, as the dual-threat quarterback has also accumulated 3,673 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns. While contract negotiations are yet to begin, it seems more of a "when" than an "if" for the superstar quarterback.