Lamar Jackson wants his contract situation settled before the Baltimore Ravens open the regular season on Sept. 11 against the New York Jets.
The former AP NFL Most Valuable Player was asked Saturday if negotiations had a hard deadline.
"Yeah, we coming up to it. It's coming up. Season's coming up," Jackson said. "We're going to be good for the season."
With Jackson representing himself in contract negotiations, it makes sense that he'd want to leave that distraction in the offseason. The QB added that he had "no updates" on the status of contract talks.
Asked if it's fair to say Week 1 is a hard deadline, Jackson responded, "Yeah, for sure."
The Ravens have been adamant all offseason that they want Jackson in Baltimore for the long haul.
"Lamar is doing a great job, he's practicing every day. The business part of it is the business part of it. I'm very confident that it will get done when it gets done," coach John Harbaugh said. "You can't really rush it. I don't think either side wants to rush anything; both sides want to be happy when it's all said and done, and probably both sides unhappy when it's all said and done, to some degree, right? That's kind of how it works. He's doing a great job. But he's doing a great job. He's practicing well. He's a great leader; on the sideline, he's right into the game. So, everything, thumbs up."
The QB would be slated to hit free agency in March if the Ravens and Jackson can't come to terms before the regular season. Sides could reignite talks once their season ends. If all else fails, Baltimore could use the franchise tag on their quarterback.
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