Insider hints Ravens could draft Lamar Jackson replacement

There's yet another indication that some within the Baltimore Ravens are at least thinking about acquiring a potential replacement for star quarterback Lamar Jackson. 

"I'm hearing the Ravens are in full contingency mode at quarterback and have been for the past two months," ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler said during an on-air segment on Friday, as shared by Chris Rosvoglou of The Spun. 

Fowler also repeated a previous story and said that the Ravens "were heavily in" on Baker Mayfield and "in on" Jacoby Brissett. Mayfield joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after he reportedly received an offer from the Ravens, while Brissett headed to the Washington Commanders.

"Now, I'm talking to several teams that said Baltimore is looking at pretty much the full spectrum of quarterbacks in this draft," Fowler added during his update. 

Earlier this week, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta hinted that the organization could use a first-round draft pick to grab a quarterback later this month.

"It depends on the board. It really does," DeCosta said at that time. "I’d have to say yes because we have quarterbacks in our top 31. So just based on that alone, simple math, I would have to say yes." 

There's currently no sign that the Ravens and Jackson are close to working out a long-term deal as the one-time NFL Most Valuable Player allegedly looks to receive a contract that includes over $230M in fully-guaranteed money. Multiple in-the-know individuals believe Jackson may have to spend at least the upcoming season with Baltimore, partly because no other club has yet met his asking price. However, the Ravens may need to offer the signal-caller some extra cash to ensure he shows up to training camp on time and is happy to work. 

Some continue to link the New England Patriots with Jackson amid rumors claiming that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick wants to move on from QB1 Mac Jones this spring. Since the Ravens can match any offer Jackson receives, they theoretically could spend a first-round selection on a quarterback and still retain the 26-year-old through Super Bowl LVIII.