The Ravens have plenty of questions looming — about their star quarterback, who could possibly get traded, about their longtime head coach, who could potentially get fired — in the days and weeks and months ahead following their shocking Week 18 loss to the Steelers.
Lamar Jackson didn’t want to think about any of them Sunday night.
“We just lost a game, a divisional game, a game to put us in the playoffs,” Jackson told reporters, according to Pro Football Talk. “I’m not even thinking about that right now, to be honest with you. I’m still caught up in what just happened. That’s not my focus right now.”
When asked if he wanted John Harbaugh back as head coach, Jackson added that he’s “stunned right now” and didn’t provide much of a concrete answer.
Harbaugh has been Jackson’s only coach since Baltimore drafted him in 2018, serving as the constant as the 28-year-old defied questions about his potential as a quarterback and blossomed into a two-time MVP anyway.
But the Ravens have only advanced as far as the AFC Championship game once during their partnership, and while Harbaugh has been Baltimore’s coach since 2008 and capped the 2012 season with a Super Bowl title, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday that discussions will occur after the season about Harbaugh’s future with the organization.
“You’re asking me about next year,” Jackson told reporters Sunday when asked about Harbaugh’s future, according to Pro Football Talk. “I’m so caught up in what just happened tonight, I can’t focus on that right now. I just told you. … I’m still trying to process what’s going on.”
Jackson still has two years remaining on his five-year, $260 million deal from April 2023 that set the record for a signal-caller at the time, but his cap hit will balloon to $74.5 million for 2026, according to Spotrac — and a contract extension, per multiple reports, would help lower that number.
He appeared in just 13 games this season and threw for 2,549 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions while rushing for another 349 yards and two touchdowns.
During the Ravens’ 26-24 loss to the Steelers on Sunday, in a game that essentially equated to the AFC North title game, Jackson threw for 238 yards, three touchdowns and an interception — and even gave Baltimore a chance for a last-second field goal to win the game, which Tyler Loop stunningly missed from 44 yards.
A report from the Baltimore Sun last month suggested that Harbaugh had grown tired of Jackson, in addition to accusing the star quarterback of staying up late to play video games and falling asleep in team meetings.
Harbaugh, though, described his relationship with Jackson as “A-plus.”
“I love him,” Harbaugh told reporters in late December. “Always have, always will. And I know he’s fighting like crazy to get back.”
