Does Ravens' Lamar Jackson move indicate a problem with contract extension talks?

Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta previously made it known that he was "confident" the club would sign star quarterback Lamar Jackson to a contract extension at some point this offseason. 

The fact that DeCosta went a different route to lower the salary-cap number attached to Jackson's deal may indicate that the two sides aren't all that close to an agreement. 

Ravens make first of what they hope are multiple Lamar Jackson moves

NFL insider Aditi Kinkhabwala of CBS Sports revealed that the Ravens restructured Jackson's contract on Tuesday at a time when Baltimore seemed on track to add Las Vegas Raiders star pass-rusher Maxx Crosby to its roster. However, the Ravens later backed out of that trade after Crosby reportedly did not pass his physical.

Crosby and the Raiders agreed to a three-year, $106.5M extension last offseason. On Wednesday, it was reported that the Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson had agreed to a four-year, $112M contract. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Hendrickson's contract includes $60M in fully guaranteed money and a $20 million signing bonus. Additionally, it could be worth up to $120M.

Schefter noted that the Ravens created about $40M in salary-cap space by reworking Jackson's deal. Per the terms of the five-year contract reportedly worth up to $260M (with $185M guaranteed) that Jackson signed in 2023, the Ravens didn't need the signal-caller's permission to rework the deal. 

Why Ravens will want to extend Lamar Jackson sooner rather than later

As Jonas Shaffer shared for The Baltimore Banner, Jackson's contract prevents the Ravens from retaining his rights after the 2027 season via the franchise tag. Add in that quarterbacks become only more expensive each offseason, and it makes sense that DeCosta would want to lock the two-time regular-season MVP down via a multiyear deal before the 2026 campaign gets underway. 

That said, an unnamed NFL personnel executive recently told league insider Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom that he had heard DeCosta was "having trouble getting Lamar to answer his phone and do a new deal with him." Such an update won't do much to silence those who have wondered if Jackson could keep his options open through at least the summer.