Harbaugh Reveals Take on Lamar Jackson Missing Ravens OTAs

To live the life of a superstar quarterback is to exist somewhere between the spotlight and the front page of the newspaper. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson carries the weight of a city on his shoulders, and part of that responsibility is dealing with the headlines at every corner.

As such, it was no surprise that people started talking when he missed another round of organized team activities (OTAs), especially when general manager Eric DeCosta hinted at the beginning of contract negotiations for the young quarterback.

However, there isn’t much to indicate that Jackson is trying to prove anything with his absence, and he has little reason to be upset. These are voluntary workouts, not mandatory minicamp, after all.

On Friday, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh revealed his take on Jackson missing OTAs.

"I'm not taking any position on it or judging it, or whatever. Lamar [Jackson], the day he was out of here, played great,” Harbaugh said, via team transcript. “I could see he was in great shape, threw the ball great, made the right reads, knew the offense in an excellent kind of way. I thought he was fantastic. And when he comes back and practices, when that happens, I expect him to play at that level. That's what you measure. You measure, for any player, how they play. I'm not measuring, really, the attendance.

“I mean it's a voluntary camp, so I'm not measuring that. I love being out here, and I think all the players do. And when Lamar's out here, I promise you, he loves being out here. You could see it when he was out here.”

Harbaugh isn’t just doing damage control here. He isn’t concerned because Baltimore has nothing to fear.

It goes without saying that Jackson doesn’t need any extra reps. He is coming off perhaps his best year as a pro, a campaign that included his first 4,000-yard season and what could (should) have been his third MVP award.

In due time, Jackson will be back at Ravens camp. And if any of the last few seasons has been meaningful, he’s likely to make Baltimore a Super Bowl contender. Jackson is Harbaugh’s ticket back to the biggest stage. He’s not casting any doubt on that in June.

“So, he's my guy. I love him, and I can't wait to just get into this season and get going."