Harbaugh '200%' sure Jackson will remain Ravens' QB
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said he's "200%" confident star quarterback Lamar Jackson will be the future of the franchise.
"There's no question about it. Lamar Jackson is our quarterback," Harbaugh said Thursday. "Everything we've done in terms of building our offense and building our team … is based on this incredible young man and his talent."
Jackson completed the final year of his rookie contract and is set to become a free agent. Both sides have until July 15 to work on an extension before the Ravens would need to place the franchise tag on the former MVP to retain him for 2023.
Baltimore would have to pay around $32.5 million to keep him on the one-year tender, according to OverTheCap. The team concluded talks with Jackson about a potential extension before the start of the 2022 campaign based on his self-imposed deadline.
"(General manager Eric DeCosta) wants him here, I want him here, (owner) Steve (Bisciotti) wants him here, and Lamar wants to be here," Harbaugh said. "It's gonna work out."
For the second straight campaign, Jackson was unable to close out the regular season due to injury. A nagging knee ailment also forced him to miss the team's wild-card round loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday. Jackson missed 10 of the Ravens' past 22 games.
Harbaugh said the Ravens have been in communication with the quarterback since the conclusion of their season.
DeCosta said he's "confident" the team will work out a deal with Jackson but refused to answer when asked if it'd be willing to entertain trade offers.
"Our focus right now is to get a long-term deal done," he said. "That's our singular focus."
The franchise extended Roquan Smith earlier in January and previously worked out extensions for other key members such as Ronnie Stanley and Mark Andrews.
Harbaugh also said Jackson will have input regarding the "highly sought-after" offensive coordinator role after Greg Roman stepped down Thursday following four seasons with the club.
Baltimore was among the top three rushing teams each season since Roman joined the franchise ahead of the 2019 season.
The Ravens' offense averaged 338.8 yards per game and 20.6 points per contest in 2022. Baltimore's average passing yards per game was 178.8, which ranks in the bottom five.