Since the moment Lamar Jackson declared for the 2018 NFL Draft, the quarterback has engendered intense reactions, both positive and negative. Those in the former category refuse to acknowledge where he comes up short while the people in the latter cannot accept that few players at any position tilt the field as significantly as he does.

At only 24 years of age, Jackson’s career résumé already outpaces most of his peers at the same point in their careers. In just his second season, the signal-caller earned first-team All-Pro honors as well as the Most Valuable Player awards from both the Associated Press and Pro Football Writers of America. Jackson also led the NFL in passing touchdowns that season, an accomplishment that has largely gone without mention given his reputation as a running quarterback. While his production and play dropped off the following season, most league MVPs experience some form of regression in their follow-up efforts, some more substantial than Jackson’s.

Yet despite Jackson following a fairly normal post-MVP trajectory, the conversations surrounding him in the years since have largely focused on his shortcomings. Jackson’s passing skills became the crux of the criticism. While the Ravens do not possess one of the NFL’s most prolific aerial attacks, at least part of the blame has to fall on Greg Roman, the team’s offensive coordinator who utilizes a limited menu of passing plays. While Jackson largely kept Baltimore competitive despite those hindrances, the fall from AFC North champions to a wild-card team fell largely on his shoulders anyway.

[Discuss this article on the BSL message board]

At the same time, Jackson has his defenders who likewise twist facts toward their particular bent. While Jackson can uncork some fantastic balls on throws with a high degree of difficulty, he can also get a little careless with his mechanics on more rudimentary passes. Such concerns affect numerous quarterbacks, both young and old, but it remains a frustrating part of Jackson’s game.

Those issues have cropped up from time to time throughout Jackson’s run in Baltimore, but they became especially glaring during his three-interception quarter against the Cleveland Browns. Jackson put too much zip and overshot a receiver running a shallow drag for the first pick, threw into double coverage for the second, and causally lobbed a pass to Mark Andrews with a safety covering the curl zone to complete the hat trick.

All of which underscores where Jackson stands at this point in his career. At his apex, few if any quarterbacks present a more imposing challenge to defenses. The high-difficulty completions and unparalleled scrambling ability keep opponents on their toes. At the same time, certain game states stress his weaknesses and he still has progress to make sanding off the rough edges on some of his throws. Seemingly half the critics focus only on the positives while the rest fixate on his flaws, neither properly acknowledging the other side.

And this lack of communication has spilled over into the discussion of Jackson’s eventual extension. While his detractors suggest the Ravens should capitalize on the 2019 MVP’s value in a trade, Jackson’s impact on the game remains too great — and the time and resources invested into him too significant — to justify such a route. Unless a severe injury or something off the field transpired that changed his long-term outlook, Jackson will stay at the center of the organization’s plans.

Still, Jackson presents enough risks and variance to affect his leverage at the negotiating table. He still derives a considerable percentage of his value from running, and that skill tends to age more poorly than arm talent. Even if Jackson improves as a passer, a loss in mobility could have a net negative impact on his game. The Ravens will surely try to protect themselves for such scenarios by limiting the fully guaranteed money in Jackson’s next contract, at least relative to the other upper-tier quarterbacks in the league.

Because Jackson and the Ravens will see several negotiation items differently — and the quarterback represents himself rather than an agent — talks could take more time to complete than other superstar signal-callers. Already, the slow pace of bargaining has allowed several new quarterback deals to change the market, most recently those for the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen and the Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott. Those agreements have pushed up the bar for Jackson’s asking price, but they also haven’t set a new high-water mark, adding nuance and complications in Baltimore.

But make no mistake, Jackson and the Ravens will ink a new contract, whether in the coming months or around the 2023 offseason when his rookie deal fully expires. Quarterbacks of far lesser capability than Jackson have landed top-of-market deals, and Jackson ranks a true field-tilter despite his flaws.

Jason B. Hirschhorn
Jason B. Hirschhorn

Jason B. Hirschhorn is an award-winning sports journalist and Pro Football Writers of America member. He has bylines at NFL.com, SB Nation, Sports Illustrated, and other outlets.

X