When Jesse Minter was announced as the Baltimore Ravens‘ head coach, his first port of call wasn’t anything to do with the defense.

It was Lamar Jackson and his contract.

Setting it to count a whopping $74.5 million against the cap in 2026 isn’t workable, and the Ravens have to come to an agreement with Jackson and bring that number down. Way down.

According to NFL Network insiders, the Ravens are “expected” to enter contract talks with Lamar, and they also say Jackson was “instrumental” in Minter’s hiring, which means a trade of the two-time MVP is off the table.

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Lamar was never leaving

Yes, Lamar’s cap number is astronomical, but let’s be clear, the Ravens were never really going to trade their two-time MVP winner, right?

One could only imagine the pushback the franchise would have faced had they made that move, and it would have almost certainly seen Baltimore wave the white flag for the 2026 season.

So, we knew the Ravens were always going to enter contract talks with Jackson, and going by The Insiders, that is exactly what they’re going to do.

The new league year begins in just over a month, so the clock is ticking.

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