Getty
Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens.
Analysts have danced around the Minnesota Vikings‘ quarterback issues for the last two months, but with the new league year coming, the team is in a position to make the boldest possible move.
Some might believe that’s a swing on a trade for Kyler Murray, the most accomplished QB likely available this spring, who will cost $78 million over the next two seasons. Others could argue that paying Malik Willis in free agency and handing him the role of starter in an offense ready to win now, assuming some improvements and better health luck on the offensive line, is the strongest play Minnesota can make.
But if Kevin O’Connell wants to nip questions about his fitness for the lead role in the bud, the first such questions he has faced in four relatively successful years at the helm of the Vikings’ sideline, there is one path that would blow all others away — a godfather trade offer for Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
The Ravens fired long-time head coach Jim Harbaugh after 18 seasons due to the team’s inability to get over the Super Bowl hump for a second time during his tenure, despite the services of Jackson. But the two-time MVP signal-caller isn’t without fault, either.
Jackson is 3-5 as a postseason starter and has appeared in the AFC Championship Game only once. That said, he will play next season at just 29 years old and is a top-3 quarterback over the past half decade any way you slice it.
Minnesota’s offense would become instantly elite with Jackson throwing to Justin Jefferson, but the cost of that elevation would be steep and include three first-round picks (2026, 2027, 2028) as well as quarterback JJ McCarthy.
Lamar Jackson’s Trade Value Among Highest in NFL
GettyBaltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Bill Barnwell of ESPN judged Jackson’s trade value at four first-round picks in July 2025, heading into what was his eighth NFL season.
“Jackson is a future Hall of Famer and has a strong case as the best football player on the planet, but there are too many franchises that weren’t willing to mold their identities around his unique skill set … when Jackson was at least plausibly available in March 2023,” Barnwell wrote.
Jackson went on to win his second MVP award in 2023 and finished second in MVP voting in 2024. He struggled through multiple injuries last season, which cost him four games and hampered him in several others.
Still, the QB finished the year with 2,549 passing yards on a 63.6 percent completion rate, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also rushed the football for 349 yards and two scores.
Despite a 1-5 start to the year and deficiencies around him on both sides of the football, Jackson still had Baltimore playing the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 18 for the AFC North Division title and a home playoff game in the Wildcard Round of the playoffs.
Lamar Jackson’s Longterm Health Prospects Remain Concern, as Do JJ McCarthy’s
GettyQuarterback Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens.
Jackson’s unique style of play and his meaningful injury history, including in 2025, might prove holdups for some teams. However, if the Vikings believe Jackson to be fully healthy heading into the summer, the upside is worth the risk of sending such a monstrous trade haul to Baltimore.
First of all, McCarthy has started just 10 of a possible 24 regular-season games since Minnesota selected him No. 10 overall in the 2024 draft, which doesn’t bode well for his future durability. Secondly, a monster offer is probably the only way to possibly pry Jackson away from a new, and first-time, head coach in Jesse Minter.
Minter has made his reputation on the defensive side of the football and is turning the Ravens offense over to Declan Doyle, who is in his early 30s and has exactly one season of experience as an offensive coordinator, which came last year with the Chicago Bears where head coach Ben Johnson called the plays.
That said, Baltimore has to make some kind of adjustment regarding Jackson this offseason, and might consider trading him considering the circumstances.
“The Ravens have to do something with Lamar Jackson’s contract or move on,” Dan Graziano of ESPN wrote on December 24 of last year. “He has two years left at $51.25 million per year in base salary, but none of his remaining money is guaranteed — and the cap hit for next year balloons to $74.5 million. The Ravens need to extend him to get that cap hit down, or else they need to trade him.”
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
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