Even the most diehard Cleveland Browns fans admit that Lamar Jackson is a problem. He's one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in NFL history, and even with his well-documented postseason struggles, he's a menace in the AFC North.
Jackson has a 10-5 record against the Browns. In those 15 games, he's thrown for 2,737 yards with 22 touchdowns and 10 picks, adding 770 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns, and a passer rating of 96.6. He's had some ugly performances mixed in, but he's had Cleveland's number more often than not.
That's why the Browns and their fans can only hope that his brewing contract drama with the Baltimore Ravens ends with a trade request. That may have sounded crazy years ago, but it's no longer as far-fetched as it once seemed.
The Browns have every reason to monitor Lamar Jackson's contract drama
Lamar Jackson is his own agent, and he's a tough negotiator. Given the way the Ravens dealt with his contract negotiations in 2022, he's unlikely to give them any sort of hometown discount.
Ironically, the Browns may have contributed to this situation. Giving Deshaun Watson a fully guaranteed contract in 2022 triggered a domino effect, leading to an investigation of league-wide collusion to prevent Jackson and others from also getting a fully guaranteed deal at the time.
Things are different this time.
As NFL insider Jason La Canfora pointed out, Jackson has all the leverage now. The Ravens unilaterally restructured his contract earlier this offseason, putting a massive $85 million cap hit on the books for the 2027 season. He also has no-trade and no-franchise tag clauses:
"Jackson has more leverage than ever before – entering a lame-duck year with an $85M cap hit next year and a no-trade clause and a no-franchise tag clause," La Canfora wrote. "Once Jackson cuts off talks – if he already hasn’t – he will decide if he wants to take Steve Bisciotti’s money or someone else’s. Because that cap number is untenable and a new deal is required to secure any cap relief, and all roads go through Jackson – who has asked for a trade before, and plenty of GMs and contract negotiators believe he will do it again."
As things stand now, the Ravens are stuck with two options: They can either pay Jackson whatever he asks for, including guarantees and payout timelines, or they have to hope he requests a trade. Otherwise, they could have to tear apart their championship-caliber roster or keep pushing money into the future to accommodate his mammoth deal.
The Ravens haven't found playoff success with Jackson at the helm, so perhaps this gives them an opportunity to start fresh. That might make sense to a degree, but it could also bring their championship window to a close, potentially leading to a fire sale.
Jackson has led the Ravens to four AFC North titles since he took over as their starting quarterback. They've been the team to beat in the division for most of his career, so this would be a nice turn of events for Cleveland and Baltimore's other division rivals.
The Ravens walked themselves into this financial disaster, and there's no easy way out or scenario in which they can win. The Browns are a team on the rise, and the power dynamics in the division might finally shift pretty soon.
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