It’s ongoing and optimism for Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta
If Ravens fans were hopeful of new information on the two-year contract negotiation between the Baltimore Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson, they were left with empty pails. Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta met with the media at the NFL Scouting Combine and gave the same answers heard in previous iterations.
The first question of the press conference asked if there was any update on Lamar.
“Lamar and I are talking. We met recently. It’s an ongoing discussion,” DeCosta said. “We both understand the urgency of the situation. It’s been a good dialogue, a good discussion. I’m optimistic as I continue to be optimistic and we’ll see where it goes.”
It’s a familiar response, similar to DeCosta’s answer six weeks ago.
“Well, it certainly takes two to tango, but I think Lamar [Jackson] and I have a great relationship,” DeCosta said at the Season Review press conference. “I think we communicate quite often. We spent some time together today, as a matter of fact. We’ve spoken throughout the season multiple times… I wouldn’t characterize the percentages of getting any deal done or how long it’s going to take except to say that we’ll communicate effectively, we’ll be as fair as we can be, and we’ll try to hammer out a deal. Hopefully, we can get to that point.”
The curious case of the franchise tag is still being mulled over by DeCosta, too.
“There’s a couple different franchise tags,” DeCosta said. “We’re hopeful that we’ll get a deal done with Lamar before that happens.”
The different franchise tags have to do with being exclusive and non-exclusive, something that DeCosta said back in January he ‘thinks about it every day.’
DeCosta remained status quo in singing the praises of Jackson and stating, as he and the team has for years now, that they want Jackson for the long term.
“You can’t win in this league without a strong quarterback,” DeCosta said. “That’s been proven. So we want Lamar here. We think he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He’s certainly one of our best players and we want him back… Living in a world without a quarterback is a bad world to live in and I think there are a lot of GM’s and coaches that would probably say that who are living in that world right now. We’re aware of that. I think we’ve been blessed since 2008 to have Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson and my goal is to continue that.”