{"id":860872,"date":"2026-04-08T12:32:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/860872\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T12:32:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:32:18","slug":"lamar-jackson-sends-clear-message-to-the-ravens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/860872\/","title":{"rendered":"Lamar Jackson sends clear message to the Ravens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Lamar Jackson didn\u2019t have to show up for the Ravens\u2019 voluntary offseason program. He did anyway \u2013 and that\u2019s the message. Baltimore became the first team to report for voluntary workouts, and Jackson was in the building on Day 1 while his contract extension talks are still hanging in the air. If you\u2019re looking for a dramatic storyline, this is him answering it.<\/p>\n<p>MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/ranking-the-15-teams-with-the-best-chance-to-win-the-nba-finals-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Ranking the 15 teams with the best chance to win the NBA Finals<\/a><\/p>\n<p>A Shift in Behavior<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"711\" alt=\"9. Lamar Jackson \u2014 $51,250,000\" class=\"wp-image-112933 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/USATSI_27934749_168396005_lowres-1024x711.jpg\"  data- data-eio-rwidth=\"1024\" data-eio-rheight=\"711\"\/>Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) rushes the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half at Acrisure Stadium. Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>This also isn\u2019t normal behavior for him. Reporting notes Jackson skipped eight of nine voluntary workouts last offseason, and two offseasons ago, he reportedly left $750,000 in workout bonuses on the table by not meeting an offseason requirement.<\/p>\n<p>So when he shows up now, early, with the cameras rolling, it isn\u2019t an accident. It\u2019s buy-in\u2014or at least the smart version of buy-in.<\/p>\n<p>A New Era in Baltimore<\/p>\n<p>The Ravens are in a new era. John Harbaugh is gone, Jesse Minter is the head coach, and Declan Doyle is running the offense.<\/p>\n<p>Jackson showing up immediately gives the staff something they can\u2019t fake\u2014leadership in the room and credibility with the roster from jump.<\/p>\n<p>Last Season Wasn\u2019t Good Enough<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-92602 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/default-250-1024x683.jpg\"  data- data-eio-rwidth=\"1024\" data-eio-rheight=\"683\"\/>Sep 28, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) scrambles during the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>And the Ravens need that, because last season was not good enough.<\/p>\n<p>They missed the playoffs after an 8\u20139 season, and Jackson\u2019s season ended at 2,549 passing yards, 21 TDs, 7 INTs, plus 349 rushing yards and two rushing TDs in 13 starts. That\u2019s ok production, but it\u2019s not the standard in Baltimore\u2014and it\u2019s not Jackson\u2019s standard.<\/p>\n<p>The Message He\u2019s Sending<\/p>\n<p>So what\u2019s he signaling? Two things. First\u2014he\u2019s not hiding. If he wanted to turn this into leverage theater, he could have stayed away and let the headlines cook. But he didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>Second, he expects the Ravens to match energy. Show up for him the way he\u2019s showing up for them\u2014with a real roster plan, real protection, and a real offense that stops wasting his prime.<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t sentimental. It\u2019s transactional leadership. Lamar showed up. And that\u2019s the point.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Enjoy free coverage of the top news &amp; trending stories on The Big Lead\u00a0<\/a>\u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lamar Jackson didn\u2019t have to show up for the Ravens\u2019 voluntary offseason program. He did anyway \u2013 and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":860873,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2052],"tags":[184,117,2282,7,895,6,169],"class_list":{"0":"post-860872","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-football","12":"tag-lamar-jackson","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-ravens"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116369107724343066","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860872","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=860872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}