Lamar Jackson Brushes Off Trade Rumors as Ravens Face Pivotal Finale and Looming Offseason Changes
The AFC North Showdown Everything comes down to Sunday for the Baltimore Ravens. They are hitting the road for a 250-mile trip northwest to Acrisure Stadium, squaring off against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a classic winner-take-all scenario. The math is simple: a win crowns Baltimore as the AFC North champions and punches their ticket to the playoffs, while a loss hands the division crown to Pittsburgh. But heading into this massive Week 18 clash, the actual football has almost taken a backseat to swirling rumors about Lamar Jackson’s future and his behind-the-scenes dynamic with the franchise.
Shooting Down the “Hit Piece” The two-time MVP has been under heavy fire lately. A scathing column by Baltimore Sun reporter Mike Preston made national waves right before the holidays, essentially calling for the Ravens to trade their franchise quarterback. Published on December 23, just two days after Jackson left a loss to the New England Patriots with a back injury, the piece painted a picture of a fractured relationship between the player and the team. It alleged friction over Jackson’s diet, late-night video game habits, and even claims that he was nodding off during team meetings.
Jackson kept quiet initially. He spent Week 17 sidelined, watching Derrick Henry put the team on his back to keep their playoff pulse alive against the Green Bay Packers. Returning to practice on the eve of the season finale, however, the quarterback finally took a moment to clear the air.
Asked directly about the nap allegations, Jackson didn’t hold back. “Do you think Harbaugh would let me fall asleep in meetings?” he told reporters. “That’s crazy. I’m right in front. I don’t know, man. It is what it is. It’s just noise.” He also firmly shut down rumors of a rift with head coach John Harbaugh, adding, “Yes. I don’t know where that stuff comes from.”
A Statistical Drop-Off Still, the trade chatter hasn’t materialized out of nowhere. Much of it stems from Jackson’s noticeable regression in 2025 compared to his stellar 2024 campaign. Injuries have limited him to just 12 out of 16 possible games this season. In that span, he has managed 2,311 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, and six interceptions. It is a steep drop from last year’s MVP run, where he racked up 4,172 yards and a career-best 41 touchdowns against just four picks.
A Looming Financial Hurdle Beyond the stat sheet, Baltimore is staring down a massive financial headache. As it stands, Jackson carries a staggering $74.5 million cap hit for the upcoming season—a number the front office desperately needs to lower. Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti recently made it clear that the organization wants to hammer out a new contract with their star signal-caller before free agency kicks off in mid-March. Whether or not they actually get that deal done could have a major ripple effect on his availability for the team’s spring program.
New Regimes and Offseason Demands That spring program is shaping up to be a critical one. Sweeping changes are already on the horizon for Baltimore, with incoming Head Coach Jesse Minter and Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle preparing to shape the team’s future. The new staff has circled April 6 for the start of the offseason program, with on-field workouts slated for May.
Minter and Doyle are eager to install a revamped offensive scheme tailored to Jackson, making attendance at these voluntary workouts a major priority. “We would expect them to be here, but obviously it’s voluntary,” Doyle explained this week. He made his expectations perfectly clear, noting that building a championship culture requires putting in the work, collaborating, and establishing strong relationships with the new coaching staff right out of the gate to get the new regime started on the right foot.
Getting Jackson in the building, however, might be easier said than done. The quarterback historically skips voluntary offseason workouts; last year, he showed up for only one of the nine scheduled sessions on the field. Balancing a new playbook, a towering cap hit, and lingering outside noise, the Ravens have a chaotic few months ahead of them, regardless of what happens in Pittsburgh on Sunday.
