The Ravens’ offseason moves have been defined by departures and re-signing of key players to the team. Their first move involved agreeing to a 3-year, $60 million deal with LT Ronnie Stanley. While retaining your most experienced offensive lineman was always going to be a priority, they have been slow to add new pieces to the puzzle thus far. After falling agonizingly in the AFC Divisional round to the Bills, following yet another impressive season by Lamar Jackson, you would’ve expected general manager Eric DeCosta to start providing more ammunition to his QB using free agency. But apart from recently making a move for a former Chiefs star, it has been all quiet in Baltimore, with Jackson like many fans still waiting.

As expected, the first day of NFL free agency was full of action with teams handing out massive contracts left, right, and center. We saw the Cardinals make use of their cap space by signing Super Bowl LIX winner Josh Sweat to a four-year $76.4 million contract. They have also moved to sign LB Akeem Davis-Gaither and QB Jacoby Brissett, each on 2-year contracts. But the Ravens opted to sit out. While this may be considered smart play by DeCosta, Jackson, it seems, is eager for the front office to make some moves.

On Tuesday, ML Football tweeted a clip of Jackson enjoying some pizza with the caption, “Baltimore #Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is test-tasting PIZZIA while the rest of the world is stressing out about free agency.” However, the star QB responded to the post, noting that the video is from last year, and dropped a message for the Ravens front office.

“This was Last yr…… lol I’m waiting like everyone else,” he wrote in his post. Well, the Ravens faithful know that Jackson needs some potent weapons to take their side further, so why is the front office playing the waiting game?

For starters, the free agency class this year is widely considered to be weak overall. While there are definitely some impact players, there are not enough options in the way of high-end talent. The Ravens, as we know, have always been careful about overpaying players, and this offseason looks no different. Going by DeCosta’s comments during the combine last month, this looks like a well thought out plan.

“I mean, you guys know the Ravens. [It has to be] the right player [and] right price. We don’t have a lot of cap room. We have [vice president of football administration] Nick Matteo working tirelessly to find some space for us. We call it ‘couch cushion coins.’ We’re trying to find 50 grand here, 75 grand there and a couch cushion. But we’re not a team that’s going to make a lot of splashes, generally speaking,” DeCosta told the reporters.

The Ravens had about $12.2 million in salary cap space at the start of free agency. With the re-signing of Ronnie Stanley to a three-year, $60 million deal on Saturday, they are now looking at $7.5 million in effective cap space, far from an ideal situation. Hence, the moves have been limited from the front office in terms of signing new players to equip Jackson.

Apart from Stanley, they have agreed to re-sign All-Pro FB Patrick Ricard to a 1-year deal, while they have largely seen players leave Baltimore. Safety Marcus Williams and CB Arthur Maulet were released, while others like LB Chris Broad, LB Malik Harrison, and CB Brandon Stephens have signed up with other teams. The Ravens, did, however, make one move that would’ve delighted Lamar Jackson.

On Tuesday,  NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Ravens have signed DeAndre Hopkins to a one-year deal, worth $6 million. It might be quite a sum to fork out for a 12-month period but it provides Jackson with one of the best wide receivers of the modern era. Notably, Jackson did request the Ravens to sign Hopkins two years ago and now he has his wish.

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But will this be the only deal the Ravens will make in the offseason? They have had a slow start to the free agency and if they are to make any big moves, it will require them to free up cap space. Now, how they can do it? Well, they can look at Jackson’s contract to begin with.

Ravens could look to extend or restructure Jackson’s contract to help with cap space

The Ravens signed the QB on a $260 million over five years with $185 million guaranteed in 2023, but there is a chance they could look to restructure the contract. Now, let’s be real—Jackson is already signed through the 2027 season with the Baltimore team. With that being said, the team doesn’t need to offer a contract to their QB right about now. But looking at their cap space situation, they could restructure the deal.

See, Jackson currently ranks 9th among QBs when it comes to average annual salary with $52M. Jackson is carrying a cap hit of $43.65M in 2025. If you’re thinking that the Ravens might not have any problem with his cap hit—think again. Since Jackson is under contract through 2027, his cap hit will soar to a massive $74.65 million in 2026 and 2027. Now that’s where things get pretty interesting.

If the Ravens’ front office extends his contract, then his cap hit would surely drop down, and will give the team an opportunity to build a solid supporting crew around him. Restructuring his contract gives them  $15,796,000 in cap space, which is a good enough contract.

Meanwhile, another big question still looming over the Ravens’ fans’ heads: will Lamar Jackson get a contract extension, especially  after the Buffalo Bills shook up the NFL offseason with a jaw-dropping, bank-breaking move—locking in Josh Allen with a massive extension. We’re talking a six-year deal worth up to $330 million, with a staggering $250 million guaranteed.

So yeah, don’t be shocked if the Ravens back up the Brinks truck for Lamar again—way before his current deal even runs out. In fact, the team’s general manager Eric DeCosta acknowledged this trend when asked about Jackson’s contract extension. “Yes, we’ve seen teams do that,” DeCosta stated back in January to the reporters. “And Lamar [Jackson] and I, we’ve had a lot of discussions about contracts over the years, and at some point, I’ll probably talk to Lamar.”

“I’m just really happy [and] blessed to have watched him play football this year. We just finished the season; I want Lamar relax a little bit and think back to what we accomplished as a team and what he accomplished individually. We’ll have those conversations, probably at some point.” Let’s talk about the numbers, shall we?

However, That said, it’s likely that Lamar Jackson might surpass Josh Allen’s average annual salary ($55M) and just feel shy of Prescott’s ($60M) average annual salary—only if he gets an extension. But for now, all he wants is for the front office to amp up their game in the free agency market.