HC John Harbaugh 'confident' Lamar Jackson will be Ravens QB 'for a long time'

It appears Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh may have been attempting to convince himself things would work out well in the end when he said in July that "both sides are very motivated to get the job done" regarding star quarterback Lamar Jackson signing an extension before he would play on the final year of his rookie contract. 

Word broke earlier this week that Jackson had already made his decision about the ongoing negotiations, and Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta confirmed on Friday that no agreement is imminent and that the parties "will continue to work towards a long-term contract after the season." 

Meanwhile, Harbaugh is preparing his club for Sunday's regular-season opener at a New York Jets side that is on track to start former Baltimore QB1 and Super Bowl XLVII Most Valuable Player Joe Flacco. Harbaugh understandably was asked about the future of his current starting signal-caller during Friday's media availability. 

"I think all the feelings you would expect that anybody would have you probably have," Harbaugh said about the situation, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. "Probably not for me as much because I wasn’t directly involved in any back and forth. You’re hopeful. Those things will work themselves out in the end, I’m confident in that. I said at the beginning, that’ll happen when it’s time and when it’s time it’ll happen. 

"Lamar’s playing quarterback, he’s going to be playing quarterback here for a long time. He and I talked about it yesterday a little bit, like 'OK, let’s go be our best and go focus on football.' That’s what he’s been doing all along. I know nothing will change with that and just focused on Sunday."

Barring an injury, Jackson likely won't be able to test free agency next March and will instead have his rights through at least the 2023 season retained via the franchise tag. What happens beyond that is anybody's guess and cannot be Harbaugh's concern ahead of the upcoming campaign.