### **Ravens, Lamar Jackson Figure Prominently in Storylines That Will Define the Offseason**
With the 2025 season in the books, [The Ringer’s Diante Lee](https://www.theringer.com/2026/02/10/nfl/nfl-offseason-story-lines-seahawks-patriots-eagles-chiefs-bengals-ravens) looked at storylines that will define the offseason.
The Ravens and Lamar Jackson figured prominently in his outlook. Specifically, Lee raised the question of whether the team and its star quarterback can bounce back from a season that began with Super Bowl expectations and ended with a losing record.
"Baltimore made the difficult choice to turn over its coaching regime this offseason, and hopes new Head Coach Jesse Minter is to the Ravens what Mike Macdonald is to the Seahawks," Lee wrote. "He'll be working with some star-level pieces in safety Kyle Hamilton, linebacker Roquan Smith, and defensive tackle \[Nnamdi\] Madubuike (assuming he's able to return from his neck injury). _And_ he'll have what Macdonald doesn't, a quarterback in Jackson that can throw on the superhero cape and win games if the defense needs some support. The AFC North is theirs to win in 2026, so long as Jackson and the core pieces of this defense stay healthy.
"Jackson can't afford to have another up-and-down season like this past year's. Though he was battling through injuries, he also wasn't very sharp with ball placement or decision-making early in the season, and people are going to question whether the version of him we saw in 2025 is a look into his 30s—and whether his production will wane with his athleticism. These kinds of doubts have always unfairly hung over Jackson's career, but I _do_ think it's time for him to deliver in the playoffs the way he has during most regular seasons. He's in the same place Peyton Manning was in the mid-2000s—nothing else in his career will matter until he's lifting the Lombardi Trophy."
Lee also looked at names to watch in free agency and star players who are rumored to be on the trade block.
Center Tyler Linderbaum is one of the top pending free agents, but Lee believes it's likely that the Ravens sign him to a market-setting deal, possibly by the NFL Combine, which begins later this month.
Five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby is expected to be highly sought-after if the Las Vegas Raiders are willing to trade him, and Lee said the Ravens "would be wise to swing for him."