Ravens new regime, Lamar Jackson are both getting off on the right foot as 2026 offseason workout program opens in Baltimore
The Baltimore Ravens are getting a head start on the rest of the league with their offseason program and quarterback Lamar Jackson is there despite no new contract in hand.
The Baltimore Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson are getting a jump start on the rest of the NFL this morning, as the team is the first to open the doors of their facilities this offseason to players for a voluntary offseason workout program.
This quirk comes courtesy of Baltimore’s head coaching change and Jesse Minter now sitting atop the coaching staff. Those teams onboarding new staffs get a jumpstart on the process versus teams who are maintaining the status quo. But for Baltimore, the only status quo is the current status of Jackson’s contract situation.
Despite no change on that front, Jackson is in the building today for the start of the offseason.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson arrives at Baltimore’s offseason workouts with no new deal in hand
The Ravens’ negotiations with Lamar Jackson on a new contract are no secret. Team owner Steve Bisciotti acknowledged this past winter that he hoped the team would have a new contract in place by the start of free agency. That, of course, has not come to pass. And instead, the Ravens have opted to conduct a basic salary conversion for Jackson’s contract for some much-needed cap relief.
Jackson is currently under contract for both 2026 and 2027; he carries a cash schedule of $52 million per season in each of those two years. AFC rivals in Kansas City and Buffalo (Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen) are the only two quarterbacks in the league scheduled for higher pay in each of those two seasons.
And yet an extension is a priority. An unfinished one, but a priority nonetheless. And this is where Jackson deserves his flowers. There’s a new head coach and offensive coordinator in town. The Ravens are trying to recapture their form after a disappointing 2025 campaign. And Jackson, as the team’s franchise quarterback, isn’t playing “the game” from a negotiating standpoint. At least not yet.
It gives the Ravens and Jackson valuable time on task in the infancy of a new regime. So that when that new contract does eventually come (and I’m assuming that it will), Jackson will be best positioned to play like the quarterback he’s capable of being.
This is just the first step by all parties in Baltimore. Lamar Jackson being ready to roll. The Ravens’ organization opening their doors for 2026. And by both parties coming together at the beginning, I believe it bodes well for where the open-ended parts of this relationship stand.
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