The best and nicest thing I can say about Pro Football Talk host Mike Florio’s take on Lamar Jackson is: “Hey, look, everyone is entitled to their opinion.” This past week, Baltimore Ravens GM Eric DeCosta confirmed that contract extension talks have begun between the club and its franchise quarterback.
The current contract of the two-time NFL MVP carries a salary cap hit of over $70 million for the 2026 season, and this is one primary reason why reaching a new deal is a big priority for the club. It is widely expected that the new contract will see Jackson once again become the highest-paid player in the NFL.
He’s currently the 10th highest-paid quarterback in the league, although he did hold the top spot when he signed his current deal back in April of 2023.
Florio, however, believes that the Ravens are already thinking about who their next quarterback will be after their current one. He also insinuates that Jackson, 28, will be in such sharp decline in just three years (when he’ll be 31) that the team will already be looking to move on from him at that point.
Mike Florio:”We’re possibly three years away from the Ravens quietly developing an affinity for a quarterback that’s entering the NFL and quietly stepping away from Lamar Jackson. … Every player has a shelf life. … I guarantee they’re already thinking ‘how many more years… pic.twitter.com/Fl7eUKLK8p
— Bobby Trosset (@bobbybaltim0re) June 6, 2025
“We’re possibly three years away from the Ravens quietly developing an affinity for a quarterback that’s entering the NFL and quietly stepping away from Lamar Jackson. … Every player has a shelf life. … I guarantee they’re already thinking ‘how many more years are we gonna get out of Lamar Jackson and when do we need to start thinking about finding our next quarterback?'”
The 2024 season was Jackson’s best, statistically speaking, and there is every reason to believe he’ll keep that going this season, the following season after that, and so on for the near future. He’s syncing up well with offensive coordinator Todd Monken, and it should be a while before he starts showing some statistical regression.
Thus, Florio’s proposed hypothetical shelf-life of only three more seasons is laughably ridiculous. Florio does make one salient point that got drowned out by his nonsense. Yes, the Ravens have thought about when they might need to start looking for a new quarterback. That concept is built right into the offer that they will eventually propose to Jackson. That’s normal and natural.
Of course, it’s also very far down on the list of what the Ravens are currently focused on, regarding the Lamar contract extension talks.
This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Mike Florio thinks Lamar Jackson has three more good years left