{"id":184617,"date":"2023-01-12T13:11:07","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T13:11:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/lamar-jacksons-extended-absence-creates-more-contract-issues-with-ravens-and-both-sides-brought-this-on\/"},"modified":"2023-01-12T13:11:07","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T13:11:07","slug":"lamar-jacksons-extended-absence-creates-more-contract-issues-with-ravens-and-both-sides-brought-this-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/lamar-jacksons-extended-absence-creates-more-contract-issues-with-ravens-and-both-sides-brought-this-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Lamar Jackson’s extended absence creates more contract issues with Ravens, and both sides brought this on"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Four months ago, when Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens failed to reach a long-term extension by the quarterback’s season-opening deadline, the contract distortion field was set. From that moment on, every momentum shift would be focused through the prism of negotiation.<\/p>\n

His hot September? The Ravens should have given him the bag<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Jackson’s middling start in October? He should have taken the deal on the table<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The late playoff push? Both sides need to get something done<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Back and forth the narrative went. Up and down. Left and right. And finally, headlong into a scenario that neither side wanted injected into this dragging contract impasse: A knee injury for Jackson that has caused an extended void (16 practice absences, five missed games \u2026 and counting), followed by a steady diet of lingering questions .<\/p>\n

The new narrative? It’s something along the lines of: What exactly is going on in Baltimore?<\/em><\/p>\n

This is the pressing query as Jackson continues to miss practices, long after the initial assessments of his PCL sprain pegging a return somewhere inside a mid-to-late December window. Now we’re approaching mid-January and a first-round playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals, and the theories have wandered into territory that seemed inevitable given the ongoing contract distortion field.<\/p>\n

Did Jackson suffer a setback? Why is his return taking longer than anticipated? Is this about the lack of a long-term contract? And if he doesn’t suit up this weekend and the Ravens lose to the Bengals, what does all of this mean about the offseason between the two sides?<\/p>\n

There are a lot of questions and essentially zero answers this week.<\/p>\n

Asked about Jackson’s continued missed practices Wednesday and whether he could rule the quarterback out against the Bengals, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters, \u201cI don’t have anything to add on that. No updates at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

It’s a statement that could be correctly applied to basically everything involving Jackson and the Ravens right now, from the quarterback’s injury to his contract status to what impact any of this is going to have on another round of negotiations. And that’s unfortunate because it’s a scenario that has largely been created by both sides. From leaks suggesting Jackson reportedly turned down a $250 million contract, to Jackson sparring with fans on social media, to the continued lack of an agent conduit in between player and team \u2014 opening the door for chaos, frustration and a lack of consistent information.<\/p>\n