The Baltimore Ravens are on the cusp of elimination from playoff contention. After blowing a 24-13 lead to the New England Patriots, as well as the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Detroit Lions to get to 9-6, the Ravens can't lose another game, and they need the Steelers to lose to the Browns in Week 17.
With all of this in-season uncertainty, there also comes uncertainty in the offseason on what the team will do with head coach John Harbaugh, but also quarterback Lamar Jackson. The two-time MVP was injured against the Patriots and could miss another game this week against the Green Bay Packers. This would almost certainly lead to the Ravens being eliminated from playoff contention in Week 17, and raise questions about the head coach and quarterback.
When asked it it was a guarantee that both Lamar Jackson and John Harbaugh will be back in 2026, ESPN's Dan Graziano said no.
"I'm gonna say no," Graziano said on Get Up. The reason is that they are at an inflection point with Lamar Jackson's contract. There's two years left, no guaranteed money, and if they do nothing, the cap hit is almost $75 million. So they have to address it in some way. Most teams would do it as an extension, and the Ravens very well may. No one's going to fault them for doing that. This is the best player in the league. But, you know, they haven't had success with him. If he misses this game Saturday due to injury, that's not the first game he's missed this year due to injury. It's not the first year where he's missed a lot of games due to injury. If you are the Ravens... And you say to yourselves, 'Yeah, he's great. But if we pay him $60+ million a year, are we going to be able to build a Super Bowl team?'"
If the Ravens were to completely start over, they would get a king's ransom for Jackson, and the haul of picks they would receive in exchange for him could help jumpstart a new era.
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