4 potential landing spots for Lamar Jackson in 2023

With contract talks tabled until after the season now, where could Lamar Jackson end up in 2023?

Operating without an agent and staying away from offseason work for the first time in his career, it was an odd offseason for Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. He’s lined up to get a big contract, entering the 2022 season set to play on a $23 million fifth-year option.

It can be argued Jackson, with an MVP on his resume, deserves a better deal than Deshaun Watson and Kyle Murray got. Watson’s fully guaranteed deal is in its own category for a number of reasons, and the Ravens don’t seem willing to go that way with a fully guaranteed deal for Jackson anyway.

Jackson set a deadline — however artificial it may be — of Friday for contract talks with the Ravens. Friday morning, Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta released a statement confirming a deal was not going to be done.

"“Despite best efforts on both sides, we were unable to reach a contract extension with Lamar Jackson,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said in the statement. “We greatly appreciate how he has handled this process and we are excited about our team with Lamar leading the way. We will continue to work towards a long-term contract after the season, but for now we are looking forward to a successful 2022 campaign.”"

Contract talks are now tabled until February, theoretically, which opens the door, if only slightly, for Jackson to hit the open market and leave the Ravens in March if negotiations still don’t get anywhere substantive.

So where might Jackson end up in 2023?

4. Lamar Jackson landing spots: San Francisco 49ers

If Trey Lance struggles this season, the San Francisco 49ers could have a big quarterback question mark with a team that is otherwise ready to win at a high level. Maybe removing the shadow of Jimmy Garoppolo will help Lance get it going next season, but it’s possible a different move to add a starter would come.

The Ravens have shaped their offense around Jackson’s dual-threat skill set. Kyle Shanahan seems to envision having a mobile quarterback to fully unleash his offense. While Lance fits that bill, what he does this season will give the 49ers’ head coach strong indications if he’s got his guy or not.

It will take some cap maneuvering for San Francisco to make room for Jackson, but they can get it done if he’s an option next offseason.

3. Lamar Jackson landing spots: Detroit Lions

As the Detroit Lions look to take a step toward playoff contention this year, they have a long-term quarterback question. Jared Goff is not likely the answer, and they can part ways with him rather easily next offseason ($10 million in dead money, $20.65 million in cap savings, via Over The Cap).

Detroit will have two first-round picks again in 2023, their own and the second via the Los Angeles Rams from the Matthew Stafford trade. But their own pick might be low enough to take them out of the mix for one of the top quarterbacks in the draft class, and the Rams’ pick isn’t likely to be inside the top-20 overall. A trade up to get one of the higher-touted incoming signal callers would of course be possible.

But if Jackson is freely available, how do the Lions not entertain the idea of signing him? They are emerging from a tough salary cap situation, with ample cap space and little or no current dead money looking past this year.

And in terms of Jackson’s desire to sign with the Lions, should he be available, they can lay down an appealing case for him to think about this season.

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2. Lamar Jackson landing spots: Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins have made this into a make-or-break season for Tua Tagovailoa. He has an offensive-minded head coach (Mike McDaniel), better pass protection, (Terron Armstead) and a significant weapon (Tyreek Hill) to go with Jaylen Waddle, Mike Gesicki etc. The running back rotation also has better depth (Chase Edmonds, Raheem Mostert). There are no more excuses.

For all the pursuit or speculation about the pursuit of Deshaun Watson, Tom Brady etc., the Dolphins could legitimately be looking for a new quarterback next offseason. But they might be just good enough this season to not have a particularly high first-round pick. In terms of cap space, creating what they need for a legit pursuit of Jackson (or another free agent quarterback) would not be impossible through contract restructures, etc.

Jackson is a Florida native, and there’s been some light speculation out there tying him to the Dolphins.

As much as it’s unclear what he wants because he won’t clearly say so publicly as his own representative, maybe he wants to be a Dolphin and will do what he can to get to Miami.

1. Lamar Jackson landing spots: Baltimore Ravens

Yes, it’s obvious. If the Ravens lose an in his prime top-end quarterback, they have done it wrong. They have also made it clear they want to pay Jackson, all the way up to owner Steve Bisciotti (who did, however, lament the deal the Browns gave Watson).

So the pace of negotiations has been dictated by Jackson, as he worked away from the team in the offseason and was trying to get ready for the season. In itself, that’s a reason to hire an agent to represent your interests. It’s often worth the percentage an agent draws as commission.

Baltimore also holds the franchise tag in their pocket to use on Jackson, multiple times if they want to. A tag-and-trade is possible, however basically unlikely for a lot of reasons. If the Ravens don’t want to lose Jackson next offseason, or in 2024 (or in 2025) if they tagged him again, they don’t have to let him hit the open market unabated.

It doesn’t seem Jackson wants to leave the Ravens. But he has watched the quarterback market move upward, as it always does, and he wants to be paid accordingly. While his style of play opens up extra injury risk, he will still only turn 26 in January.

If the Ravens won’t do it, someone will pay Jackson and he may ask them not to franchise tag him if contract talks don’t go anywhere right after the season. And truly, even with DeCosta’s public declaration that contract talks are done until after the season, nothing would prevent them from resuming if both sides are willing.

Jackson will be a Baltimore Raven long-term unless something really changes or goes way off the rails. But the sliver of an idea he could leave, and the quarterback movement we’ve seen, makes him landing elsewhere at some point a “never say never” proposition.