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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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The Baltimore Ravens enter every season as one of the Super Bowl favorites because of one man: Lamar Jackson.
Yet Jackson comes into 2026 with something to prove after a disappointing 2025 campaign and with a new contract on the horizon.
This will also be the first time in his NFL career that he'll be playing under a new head coach, with Jesse Minter replacing John Harbaugh, who had been with the organization for 18 years.
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Speaking with reporters during practice on Wednesday, Minter offered some high praise for his new quarterback.
"Lamar's incredible. Again, best player in the league," Minter said. "When he's out there and really engaged like he is, he makes everybody on the field better. He makes the offense better. He makes the defense better for having to defend that type of player.
"All he's got to do is be himself. That's what he's proven that he is over the course of time ... I just appreciate the way he's gone about his business. He does a great job just from being himself and the spirit that he brings, making everybody else better."
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Jackson is without question one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks of all time. But he's also almost 30 years old, has yet to make a Super Bowl, and is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career.
Jackson appeared in just 13 games last season, missing multiple games due to injury, and finished with 2,549 passing yards, 21 passing touchdowns, and seven interceptions, along with a 63.6% completion percentage.
But what was even more concerning were his rushing totals. He ended with just 349 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Those numbers might be fine for any other player, but they were career lows for Jackson.
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What makes 2026 even more high-pressure is that it will be the final year of his current contract, and he still hasn't signed a new deal with Baltimore.
Both sides have said they want to get a deal done, and they appear ready to get back to the negotiating table after the season. But if Jackson wants to get paid top dollar, he can't afford a repeat of last year, and now he has to manage it all while learning a new system.
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