Eric DeCosta: 'I'll Do Everything I Can to Make Sure Lamar Jackson's Our Quarterback for a Long Time'
Owner Steve Bisciotti said in January that he wanted a contract extension for Lamar Jackson to be finalized before the official start of the new league year on March 11. That didn't happen, but General Manager Eric DeCosta reiterated that keeping the two-time MVP in Baltimore for years to come remains a high priority.
"I love having him here. I love having him as the face of the club, and I would love to have him here for many more years," DeCosta said in an interview with 105.7 The Fan. "I want to win. I think Lamar gives us the best chance to win. I think players love to play with him. I think our fan base loves him. And I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that Lamar's our quarterback for a long time."
The Ravens restructured Jackson's contract earlier this week to reportedly reduce his 2026 salary cap figure from $74.5 million to $34.54 million. However, it increased his 2027 cap figure from $74.5 million to $84.49 million.
Where negotiations stand is unclear, as DeCosta and Jackson prefer to keep their conversations private. Obviously, the sooner the deal is finalized, the more flexibility the Ravens will have to make future transactions.
Here are some additional highlights from DeCosta's interview:
Since the Maxx Crosby trade that ultimately fell through was reportedly agreed to last Friday, why did his physical not happen until Tuesday?
"In this particular case, a trade can't be made until the new league year starts. So even as a club, we can't announce anything, which is why in this particular situation neither the Raiders nor the Ravens could make any public announcement. Since we don't have the rights to the player, we've got to be granted access to the player by the other club. That is unusual from the standpoint of, typically, that wouldn't be the case except for a trade that happens, again, before the new league year. So, they gave permission to bring the player in at a specific time before the new league year started for the purposes of examining the player to potentially execute the trade."
Why did the Ravens sign star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson rather than waiting for the draft to address the position or signing a less-expensive free agent?
"I think it comes down to a lot of factors. This is probably one of the first years in recent history that we actually had a decent amount of salary cap room that we could carry over. We felt like that, in conjunction with the salary cap deal that we did with Lamar's contract, gave us a little bit of flexibility to acquire some players. I think the other part of it is just looking at the draft at No. 14, who's the player that's going to be available? Are there going to be any pass rushers there at 14 that we're going to feel are worth the pick? Obviously, there are two or three guys that we could talk about that we think are probably in that range, but as we've seen in the past, those guys go quickly. So, for us to get a proven commodity, I think this year with our team, with the players around them, a point of emphasis for us this year is getting after the quarterback."
How does he feel about the current wide receivers room?
"Well, I feel good about it. Obviously, Zay [Flowers] is a two-time Pro Bowler and a talented player who's going to continue to ascend. Rashod Bateman has been a big-time playmaker for us the last couple years. I think he is very, very excited about this year. Can't wait to see what Rashod does this year in this offense with coach Declan Doyle running the show, and Rashod has proven that in clutch situations, he can make good plays. A guy that I'm excited about is Tez. Tez Walker is a guy that showed flashes last year of being a home run threat. He made some really, really nice plays for us, and I would expect to see another jump this year. I think in looking at free agency, there are still some players out there. I think it's a pretty strong year in the draft as well. And there are some players that we would anticipate potentially being there for us in the first round at 14 or if we trade back in the first round."
ESPN Analysts Debate Who Ravens Should Select in First Round
Speaking of the draft, now that the Ravens have their first-round pick back as a result of the Crosby trade being called off, ESPN pundits are speculating as to who Baltimore should select at No. 14.
Draft analyst Matt Miller thinks the Ravens should take Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq.
"They lose Isaiah Likely in free agency. Mark Andrews is getting older and is now at this point in his career more of an in-line player, somebody that's not going to give you a lot of that yards-after-catch ability like Sadiq will bring to the table," Miller said. "We saw him run a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine a couple weeks ago. He is the best tight end in this class. He is an elite mover with the ball in his hands, and his touchdown production in college showed me that he can be that red zone threat the Ravens really used Isaiah Likely as the last two years."
Miller's colleague, former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum, said the Ravens should go with an edge rusher even though they just added Hendrickson.
"There should be a good pass rusher [available at No. 14]," Tannenbaum said. "The thing about Trey Hendrickson is that he'll be 32 during the season, so if you can get another young pass rusher to go with Hendrickson, we're better than we were a year ago."
Field Yates said the ideal scenario for the Ravens would be if either Penn State guard Vega Ioane or Utah offensive lineman Spencer Fano are available at No. 14.
"Each player offers major upside along the interior, though Fano would be a projection since he was a college offensive tackle but has just 32⅛-inch arms," Yates wrote. "Baltimore must shore up the offensive line with its remaining resources."
Ravens Deemed Free-Agency Winners for Landing Hendrickson
The first week of free agency has been a roller-coaster ride for Ravens fans, but thanks to landing Hendrickson, the Ravens have been recognized as one of the biggest free-agency winners by multiple pundits.
Fox Sports’ Ben Arthur: "Baltimore is undoubtedly a better team moving forward. General Manager Eric DeCosta said Wednesday that he was interested in pairing Maxx Crosby with Trey Hendrickson. In the end, the Ravens came away with the former Bengals edge (four years, $112 million) — a four-time Pro Bowler — and retained the first-round picks in 2026 and '27 they would've lost in the Crosby deal."
NFL.com’s Eric Edholm: "They might have ruffled some feathers around the league with their quick and unexpected pivot, but you have to give them credit for having a Plan B -- or a version of Plan A, as Eric DeCosta characterized it -- ready to go. The Ravens general manager said Wednesday the team was contemplating adding Crosby and Hendrickson. Now, they're no longer giving two first-round picks to the Raiders and millions of dollars to Crosby. But they were able to sign Hendrickson for about $60 million guaranteed. And it cost them no picks."
Pro Football Focus’ Mason Cameron: "The aggressive move to sign Hendrickson is a win-win for both the player and the team. On the Ravens' front, adding Hendrickson gives the defense an upper-echelon pass rusher off the edge. He is one of six edge rushers to record a pass-rush win-rate above 20% over the past three seasons, and he also places in the 96th percentile in PFF pass-rush grade on true pass sets. For Hendrickson, the deal, on its surface, looks like a discount on the $30 million-plus per-year average his camp was rumored to be looking for. Depending on the contract's structure, $60 million in guarantees will likely bring Hendrickson closer to that threshold over the first two seasons. Adding in the prospect of playing his former team twice a year pours more fuel onto the fire."
Pundit Says Ravens Would Be a Good Fit for Free-Agent Tight End David Njoku
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell identified the best team fits for several notable remaining free agents, and he matched former Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku with the Ravens.
Barnwell said Njoku could fill the pass-catching production lost by Likely's departure to the New York Giants.
"The 2017 first-round pick will be taking a pay cut from the $13.7 million he earned annually on his last contract, and he has battled knee issues throughout his career," Barnwell wrote. "But in a league in which the bar is so low for tight ends who can make an impact as a receiver, Njoku should still attract interest."
Njoku, 29, missed 11 games over the past two seasons due to injury. His best season was in 2023 when he had 81 catches for 882 yards and six touchdowns.
Value of Signing Jaylinn Hawkins Shouldn't Be Overlooked
The Ravens have a track record of making under-the-radar free-agent signings that pay dividends. Safety Jaylinn Hawkins, who signed a two-year deal worth $10 million, could be the latest.
"My favorite signing might be Jaylinn Hawkins," Baltimore Positive’s Luke Jones wrote. "He's a much better value than Alohi Gilman making $8.25 million per year and doesn't have the injury history of Ar'Darius Washington. It's important for this defense to be strong at that No. 3 safety spot, and Hawkins should be an upgrade there."
Hawkins, 28, started 15 games for the AFC champion New England Patriots last season and led them with four interceptions. He earned the 12th-highest PFF grade among all starting safeties.
"Being able to land a player coming off of that kind of season for just $5 million per year is a great deal," Heavy.com’s Ethan Massey wrote.
