Quarterback Lamar Jackson had a down season last year as the Baltimore Ravens struggled, missing the playoffs after an 8-9 record. Jackson’s production on the field also dipped dramatically as the Ravens’ offense struggled to replicate their effectiveness from years past.
Analyst Warns Lamar Jackson Over Ravens’ Future
During Friday’s segment of the “First Take” show, analyst Courtney Cronin warned Jackson about the Ravens potentially moving on from him as their starter in the future.
“The optics around what’s going on with his contract,” Cronin said. “He has chosen not to agree to sign any sort of contract extension. So, him potentially being out of Baltimore at some point could be on his own if the offense doesn’t work between himself and Declan Doyle. However, I do think it will. Doyle’s one of the brightest offensive minds out there, he got a year under Ben Johnson in Chicago. This is going to be a heavy play-action scheme.
“If it works out, that’s great, but if it doesn’t, we know that the Baltimore Ravens are not a team that needs to be a bad team to draft well at QB. They got Lamar at No. 32 overall. So they could easily be like, ‘Hey, year one, we don’t think it’s working out, you guys are the same age, there might be a balance of power, fighting struggles.’ They could say, ‘We’ll draft your replacement and start putting the clock on you for how long you’ll still be the starter here.'”
After requesting a trade in March 2023, Jackson signed a mammoth five-year, $260 million contract extension with the Ravens, with $185 million guaranteed.
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Last season, the Ravens’ offense regressed and finished No. 30 in receiving first downs (141), No. 28 in passing yards (3,278), No. 21 in passing touchdowns (23), No. 16 in total yards per game (332.2), No. 12 in total touchdowns (48) and No. 11 in total points per game (24.9).
The Ravens hired Declan Doyle as their offensive coordinator for next season. He’s taking over from Todd Monken, who left Baltimore to become the Cleveland Browns’ head coach.
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Jackson was hampered by various injuries last season (hamstring, toe, back, knee, ankle), which caused him to miss four games and limited his mobility. The quarterback’s form contributed to the preseason Super Bowl LX favorites missing out on the playoffs entirely.
Jackson tallied 2,549 passing yards on 63.6% completion, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions, while adding 349 rushing yards and two scores for the Ravens last season. He earned a PFN QB Impact score of 77.7, ranking him at No. 13 in the league.
