OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is in talks for what could become one of the richest contracts in NFL history.
But Ravens quarterbacks coach James Urban said you couldn’t tell by watching Jackson in the first two weeks of offseason practices.
“I don’t think it’ll be a distraction,” Urban said Wednesday. “I don’t think he worries about that. He seems to be the same old guy that he is all the time. So I don’t really have many concerns there.”
Last week, Jackson said he would love to be in Baltimore “forever.” He indicated that he spoke with Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta a month or two ago about an extension and didn’t appear fazed by whether a new deal would get done this year or next.
Baltimore has Jackson under contract through the 2022 season after exercising his fifth-year option. Jackson’s new deal is expected to place him among the highest-paid players in the game and could fall between the deals signed by Dak Prescott ($40 million per year) and Patrick Mahomes ($45 million per season) over the past year.
In 2019, Jackson became the youngest quarterback to win NFL MVP (22 years, 356 days old at the end of the regular season). Last season, he became the third-youngest quarterback to win NFL MVP and a playoff game. Only Dan Marino and Mahomes accomplished that feat earlier.
Jackson, 24, has positioned himself for a significant pay increase from his $1.771 million salary this year.
But Urban believe Jackson’s focus is on growing as a quarterback, from footwork to throwing mechanics to at-the-line adjustments. During Wednesday’s practice, Jackson was extremely sharp throwing the ball and joked around with teammates after taking off running.
“That’s the natural progression — a guy who plays at a very high level and you just continue to grow his game,” Urban said. “One thing that he and I talked about is the great basketball players — Michael Jordan comes to mind. He had to learn jump shots. So, you learn a jump shot, and you continue expanding your game that way.”