ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson walked off the field while looking in disbelief at his misshapen and battered right thumb, a stunning turn of events that has become the lasting image amid the uncertainty surrounding the rest of this season as well as his future with the team.After Sunday’s 36-10 loss at the Buffalo Bills, Ravens coach Jesse Minter said that Jackson will undergo surgery and that his injury is “potentially” season-ending. There are more questions about what lies ahead next offseason for Jackson, given that 2027 is the final year of his contract and includes a massive salary cap hit.It’s possible that Jackson’s final snap with the Ravens ended with his right hand colliding with Bills outside linebacker Greg Rousseau while Jackson was trying to throw a pass. His scintillating era of deep downfield passes and elusive scrambles with Baltimore might have closed with Jackson exiting the stadium with his right hand in a brace, which served as another reminder about how injuries have derailed some of his most recent seasons.
“I would absolutely hate him playing in a different uniform,” said Rex Ryan, a former Ravens defensive coordinator and current ESPN analyst. “Ray Lewis always played for the Baltimore Ravens. And there is a statue of him, and there’s going be another one of Lamar Jackson right by him. You are the Baltimore Ravens. To me, he needs to stay in Baltimore. Is there another situation that he wants to play in more than a Baltimore Raven?”
Jackson’s future with the Ravens is clouded because his $84.34 million cap figure next year is considered untenable because of Baltimore’s challenging cap situation. The Ravens are $45.94 million over the cap in 2027, which is the worst in the NFL, according to Over The Cap.
Over the past 10 months, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti and general manager Eric DeCosta have publicly stressed urgency about getting a contract extension with Jackson. But there have been no signs that the sides are close to a new deal, which has only heightened the speculation of what might happen after this season.
“I’m optimistic,” DeCosta said two months ago on Sept. 2. “We would love to get a deal done as soon as possible.”
Jackson, who doesn’t have an agent and represents himself, has the final say because he has no-trade and no-tag clauses. It’s possible that Jackson is waiting for others to reset the quarterback market before signing a new deal with Baltimore.
Young star quarterbacks such as Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix are eligible for contract extensions after this season. The highest-paid player in the NFL is currently Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is averaging $63 million per season.
If the Ravens aren’t comfortable heading into the final year of Jackson’s deal without an extension in place, they could explore a trade. Jackson would likely need to give Baltimore a list of teams for whom he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause.
The other factor is level of compensation for Jackson. When he’s healthy, Jackson is among the top players in the NFL. A two-time NFL MVP, he ranks second in career passer rating (102.7) and first in career rushing yards by a quarterback (6,666).
But Jackson has struggled to stay healthy lately, missing 18 games due to ankle, hamstring, back, knee and thumb injuries over the past six seasons. If Jackson misses the rest of this season, he would have started and finished 14 of 34 games in 2025 and 2026.
“We want another window, and Lamar knows that,” Bisciotti said 10 months ago. “I think that he’s amenable to doing something that mirrors the last deal he did, although the annual number will be a little higher. But I’m hoping that it’s plug a new number in the same contract he signed last year and move on.”
With how Baltimore has flopped without Jackson, this season has underscored how much the Ravens need Jackson. But they also need a new deal with Jackson sooner rather than later.