Lamar Jackson
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Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Just like 31 other NFL teams, the Baltimore Ravens are diving deep into preparations for the upcoming NFL draft.
Unfortunately for the Ravens, they can’t just put all their focus on the draft because there’s still the looming question of what might happen with their star quarterback this offseason and whether or not 2-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson might do everyone — and himself — a favor by showing up for voluntary offseason workouts.
“The offseason program is voluntary … we’ll see who walks in the door,” 1st year Ravens head coach Jesse Minter said at the annual NFL owners meetings on Tuesday.
“Ravens HC Jesse Minter says he’s unsure if Lamar Jackson will attend voluntary workouts,” Ravens Nation Live wrote on its official X account on Tuesday. “Jackson has historically skipped voluntary workouts throughout his career.”
For the 1st time in his career, Jackson showed he was mortal in 2025 as the Ravens entered the season as Super Bowl contenders but went 8-9 and missed the playoffs — which led to Super Bowl-winning head coach John Harbaugh being fired after 18 seasons and replaced with Minter, his former assistant.
The season exposed a deep rift between Jackson and his head coach — something Minter might be smart to pay attention to.
Ravens’ New OC Seemed to Call Out Lamar Jackson
Jackson didn’t just have beef with Harbaugh. He also seemed to have a big problem with offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who was out the door with Harbaugh but landed a job as head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Harbaugh also landed on his feet as the head coach of the New York Giants.
In Monken’s place, the Ravens brought in 29-year-old Declan Doyle as their new offensive coordinator, and Doyle was quick to take what seemed like a veiled shot at Jackson’s proclivity to skip offseason workouts.
“We would expect (players) to be here and, certainly, it is voluntary,” Doyle said. “But, if you want to say that you’re going to win a championship, you want to say that you have championship standards, and those are your goals and your expectations — certainly that’s going to take work, that’s going to take collaboration, and that’s going to take the beginning of building the relationship with their coaches (and) other players starting off this next regime on the right foot.”
Doyle’s comments also may represent a violation of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.
From the NFL’s CBA: “No Club official may indicate to a player that the Club’s offseason workout program or classroom instruction is not voluntary.”
Lamar Jackson, Why Won’t You Do OTAs?
Jackson signed a 5-year, $260 million contract extension before the 2023 season and can make an extra $750,000 by participating in a certain number of voluntary offseason workouts. The last 2 years, he’s given up $1.5 million in the process by not meeting those bonus requirements.
While it might seem like a little thing to outside observers, consider that the last 3 Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks — Sam Darnold, Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes — have all been regular attendees at OTAs throughout their careers and in the offseason before their Super Bowl wins.
Jackson has never played in a Super Bowl and made the AFC Championship Game just once, losing to Mahomes following the 2023 season.