The Baltimore Ravens‘ 2025 season is on the brink. It’s now or never for the Ravens, who must run the table and get a little help from the Cleveland Browns this weekend to make the postseason. There’s been no shortage of issues that have contributed to this season’s frustrations — be it the coaching direction under John Harbaugh, the slow defensive start, injuries to QB Lamar Jackson and others on the offensive side of the football, or poor ball security.
It’s been a Murphy’s Law season in some ways. Anything that could go wrong has. And the Ravens, now facing a fascinating offseason and the need to continue to work their contracts for future stability, find themselves facing a fascinating situation with quarterback Lamar Jackson. What should the Ravens ultimately decide to do about his contract?
Lamar Jackson’s tough 2025 season may complicate contract negotiations this offseason with Ravens
Dec 21, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) passes against New England Patriots linebacker Harold Landry III (2) during the first half of the game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images
The Ravens weren’t necessarily shy about holding extension talks with Lamar Jackson this past offseason. That went on the back burner once the season started back in September — but we’ll quickly find ourselves back in a negotiating window whether the Ravens complete a comeback for the AFC North title or not.
Jackson, who has two years remaining on his current contract with Baltimore after this season, hasn’t been himself for much of the season. Between the lingering injuries, the missed practices, and some miss connections on the field, it’s been a forgettable year relative to the standard of a multi-time NFL MVP quarterback. He’s set to post his worst marks in the last three years in completion percentage, touchdown passes, interception rate, success rate, yards per game, passer rating, QBR, sack rate, adjusted net yards per completion, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, rushing yards per game, rushing touchdowns, and expected points added (EPA).
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Lamar Jackson’s 2025 season by the numbers
Passing yards per game: 192.6 (lowest since 2022)
Passer rating: 101.4 (lowest since 2022)
Completion percentage: 63.7% (lowest since 2022)
Interception percentage: 2.1% (highest since 2020)
Rushing yards per game: 28.3 yards (worst of his career)
Sack rate: 10.41% (worst of his career)
Jackson will also turn 29 years old in early January. Quarterbacks age plenty gracefully in today’s NFL model, but most quarterbacks also don’t have over 1,000 career rushing attempts. As a matter of fact, Jackson is 42 rush attempts away from the NFL’s all-time record, which is currently held by Cam Newton (1,118 rushes). Newton, Jackson, and Russell Wilson are the only three NFL quarterbacks with over 1,000 career attempts.
It puts some extra wear and tear on Jackson that doesn’t necessarily mean anything for his outlook looking forward — but should at the very least invoke some questions about if this season’s struggles could pop up in his future more frequently.
Given that the Ravens have two years remaining on Jackson’s contract, the team may want to hold off another year before re-engaging their quarterback on talks of a new deal. Given the inflation of the quarterback market since Jackson signed his five-year, $260 million deal back in 2023, his resume likely warrants a fresh market reset contract to surpass Dak Prescott’s average of $60 million annually.
Jackson is owed $52 million in compensation in each of the next two years, which ranks fifth and third respectively among all NFL quarterbacks. It’s not like he’ll be hurting for the compensation. But with two years left before any new years on the deal and Jackson’s season playing out the way that it has, the right play may be to simply restructure down his base salary, reduce his $74.5 million salary cap charge, and let another year come and go before talking about new years, new money, and new guarantees.
I don’t say this to scare you, Ravens fans. But Jackson is in pretty rare company as a dual-threat quarterback — and will be 30 years old in just over 12 months, while still having the 2027 season under contract on his current deal. He’s done exceptionally well for himself to polish all the facets of his game to be a player who can be just as impactful picking you apart in the pocket as he is using his legs. But for the magnitude of money we’re talking about here, it’s probably best to let Jackson get that “bounce back” year under his belt before we roll full steam ahead.
Baltimore can save over $38 million against the cap if they wanted to max-restructure Jackson’s deal for 2026. That would give the team ample wiggle room and spending power for free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft, plus potential extensions for other talent on the roster. That’s probably where this conversation needs to start, and end, in 2026.
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Related: Ravens’ latest timely contract extension won’t take long to pay off for Baltimore
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This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Dec 24, 2025, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.