Lamar Jackson is a family man, but as he prepares for his ninth season, even the fam is on hold.
"I just told even my family, I'm locked in this whole season," Jackson said this week on "The Lounge" podcast. "I'm really not trying to see nobody. I'm really not. We've got to win. We've got to focus."
Jackson is taking inspiration from the NBA champion New York Knicks, who went 16-3 in the playoffs, including six double-digit comebacks and the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history (Jackson was actually in New York for that one).
Before the start of the playoffs, Knicks Owner James Dolan gave a speech to his team about making lifestyle changes and sacrificing for 10 weeks to achieve glory.
"I feel like that's real. We should honor that, too," Jackson said. "We're all professionals, so we should try it, too."
Jackson is coming off a challenging 2025 season in which injuries sidelined him for four games and affected him for more. He yanked the team’s games out of the locker room amidst a season in which the Ravens began as a Super Bowl favorite but missed the playoffs. For the first season in his NFL career, Jackson had a losing record (6-7).
That didn't sit well with Jackson. This offseason, he's done 6 a.m. workouts with wide receiver Zay Flowers, then tacked on boxing for extra cardio. Jackson has been at the Under Armour Performance Center throughout the offseason. He has hit it off with first-year Head Coach Jesse Minter and loves how he's being challenged by first-year Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle.
There's much more work to be done, but Jackson expects himself to have a big bounce-back season.
"I'm confident," Jackson said. "I'm super confident. I'm hype."
Jackson has long dreamed of winning the Super Bowl. He promised it to Baltimore on the night the Ravens drafted him in 2018 and has vivid memories of watching confetti rain down on Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and other Ravens legends. Jackson wants to feel that, too. While his hunger hasn't changed, his outlook on what it will take has.
In Jackson's first full season as the starter in 2019, the Ravens steamrolled to a 14-2 record and the AFC's No. 1 seed. But the season ended abruptly when they were shockingly upset by the Tennessee Titans at home in the divisional round. Jackson still remembers the 28-12 score off the top of his head.
The Ravens were again the AFC's top seed in 2023 and hosted the AFC Championship game, only to be toppled by the Kansas City Chiefs. The Ravens have had a two-time MVP quarterback and the teams good enough to win it all but have always come up short.
Because of all his early success, Jackson said he had a "young mindset" that the NFL was "easy." Now, he knows everything must be done to iron out flaws and finish.
"It ramps up sometimes," Jackson said. "Depending on who you're playing, depending on the atmosphere of the game, guys might come out there and have your number. Not necessarily you, but the team.
"I don't care if we start off 5-0, 6-0, we've got to finish. We've got to finish the whole season."
Despite an offseason full of changes, from coaches to players, the Ravens once again have a team capable of winning it all. But Jackson asked about the upgraded offensive line and his young, talented group of pass catchers, Jackson said it's all just on paper. He's not interested in the hype or looking ahead.
"I expect us to be there each and every year. It's starting now though," Jackson said. "It starts each and every week. It doesn't just happen in February. We have to get there first. The expectation is you're getting better each and every day until we're playing in February.
"We can't focus on the Super Bowl without producing now. We were just 8-9. We didn't make the Super Bowl. We were talking about it, but we didn't produce. Why talk about it? We got to be about it now. Finish games, finish practice, keep getting better, and the promised land will be ours."
