{"id":856812,"date":"2026-04-06T12:26:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T12:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/856812\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T12:26:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T12:26:24","slug":"lamar-jacksons-offseason-attendance-matters-more-for-the-ravens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/856812\/","title":{"rendered":"Lamar Jackson’s offseason attendance matters more for the Ravens"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trust me, I\u2019d rather be talking about almost anything else.<\/p>\n

In the scheme of things, offseason workout attendance is one of the most overblown talking points in sports<\/a>. It\u2019s the thing we talk about because there\u2019s nothing else going on \u2014 I\u2019d rather discuss the merits of the Orioles changing the left field wall distance for a third time.<\/p>\n

But, in spite of my reservations about nudging this particular hornet\u2019s nest, I\u2019ll prod anyway. As the Ravens begin offseason training in Owings Mills this week<\/a>, it would be great to see Lamar Jackson make at least a cameo in what may be the most consequential offseason of his career.<\/p>\n

I know, I know. Most years, I don\u2019t think veteran presence at workouts and organized team activities is of much value. But so much has changed the past few months it would be a misstep for Jackson to skip them, as he has in years past. <\/p>\n

This season, it just would mean more to have him here, playing a leading role. <\/p>\n

Since that frosty, disappointing playoff defeat in Pittsburgh, Jackson has been characteristically sparse in public. He has made appearances in his native South Florida, including a 7-on-7 tournament, and we\u2019ve seen clips of his boxing training and a throwing session with Zay Flowers. Jackson largely seems to keep his own counsel in his training, which worked for him dramatically well in 2023 and 2024 before injuries slowed him last year<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But attentive Baltimore fans will notice where he hasn\u2019t been seen: in Maryland. Although Ravens officials have said Jackson was a part of the coaching interview process, he seemingly did not accept Steve Bisciotti\u2019s invitation to fly up for interviews via charter<\/a>. He didn\u2019t appear at new head coach Jesse Minter\u2019s introductory news conference (notably, Josh Allen came to Buffalo coach Joe Brady\u2019s introduction, walking in on crutches). <\/p>\n

Fans hoping Jackson would sign a salary cap-saving contract extension before NFL free agency began were disappointed \u2014 the Ravens restructured his contract, but that\u2019s hardly the kind of development that merits a feel-good news conference. According to general manager Eric DeCosta, the two parties \u201ckind of ran out of time,\u201d<\/a> but they could have agreed to a new deal any day in the month since they missed that deadline.<\/p>\n

The only tweet that seemed to imply any kind of excitement from Jackson (a Denzel Washington \u201cboom\u201d GIF<\/a>) occurred hours before the Maxx Crosby trade, which later fell apart under murky circumstances. (He also endorsed a possible reunion with free-agent linebacker Jadeveon Clowney.<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Was he disappointed when Crosby\u2019s acquisition blew up<\/a>? Is Trey Hendrickson as good a get in Jackson\u2019s eyes? We have no way of knowing \u2014 which isn\u2019t new when it comes to Jackson.<\/p>\n

Jackson isn\u2019t contractually required to do any of these things, or even to react to what the Ravens have done. It may not, in some sense, be in his best interest to retain a poker face throughout. But, without a definitive, ringing endorsement for the direction of the Ravens\u2019 franchise, Jackson\u2019s absence in the offseason looms larger than it otherwise would.<\/p>\n

\"BaltimoreJackson high-fives fans before a game against the Browns in September. (Heather Diehl for The Banner)<\/p>\n

How much have Minter and his coaches spoken with Jackson? They\u2019ve largely kept those discussions private. <\/p>\n

But, given how little we\u2019ve heard from Jackson about the coaching and roster developments, would it be that much of a surprise if claiming \u201cprivacy\u201d served to mask that not that many behind-the-scenes discussions have even happened with the star quarterback?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Lamar is really excited about what we have going on,\u201d Minter said last week at the owners meetings. \u201cI think he\u2019s excited about opportunities in the offseason program. Again, we\u2019ll see on April 6 who all walks in the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson walking in the door would say a lot more about his mindset than Minter ever could.<\/p>\n

At this point, Jackson should give the public something \u2014 anything \u2014 to reflect confidence in Baltimore\u2019s overhauled staff and a renewed dedication to winning a Super Bowl. <\/p>\n

Jackson\u2019s mere attendance would speak volumes to his personal buy-in. After he passed on a $750,000 contract stipulation last season, we know what Jackson is willing to trade for not coming to OTAs. How much more would his presence in Owings Mills be worth?<\/p>\n

For Minter, it would be wind at his back that his best returning player is invested. For DeCosta, it would be a sign that maybe Jackson is excited to keep discussing a contract extension. <\/p>\n

For all the other Ravens players, it would be an example. Can you really skip offseason work with the new coaching staff if the mercurial star quarterback made the trek?<\/p>\n

Jackson could achieve so many positives only by showing up. <\/p>\n

The bar is so low for his offseason participation that any bump is a huge boost to what the Ravens are audaciously trying to achieve \u2014 going from out of the playoffs to a bona fide Super Bowl contender with a rookie head coach. The thing that ties all that ambition together is Jackson, who as ever holds the key to Baltimore\u2019s success, or its failure. <\/p>\n

There is a way Jackson can\u2019t miss. If he shows up this week at the Castle for offseason training, it\u2019s a huge victory for the Ravens months ahead of kickoff.<\/p>\n

And, mercifully, it would relieve us all from having to talk about football minutiae during this time of the year any more than we already do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Trust me, I\u2019d rather be talking about almost anything else. In the scheme of things, offseason workout attendance…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":856813,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2052],"tags":[184,117,2282,5836,7,6,169,9],"class_list":{"0":"post-856812","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore-ravens","8":"tag-baltimore","9":"tag-baltimore-ravens","10":"tag-baltimoreravens","11":"tag-featured-extrawide","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-ravens","15":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116357759117346888","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=856812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/856813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=856812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=856812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}