Like Aaron Rodgers a year ago, Lamar Jackson’s NFL future will boil down to resolving 1 thing

When the Green Bay Packers found themselves at crossroads one year ago, Aaron RodgersThe impasse was supposedly about everything except his contract.

Rodgers wanted more communication with the front office, more inclusion in the team’s planning and more respect for the core veterans who built the culture. All of that, plus one gargantuan side item for the league’s reigning MVP: A reworked contract that made him Green Bay’s unquestionable starter through at least the 2023 season and the distinction of being the highest paid player in the NFL. The final score was undisputed after it was all.

Whatever short-term promises the Packers’ front office couldn’t guarantee got resolved with flying colors by the long-term guaranteed money.

This is the formula that will solve the problem. impasse Between Lamar Jackson & the Baltimore Ravens. It is important to write it down. You can laminate it. It can be re-visited in weeks, months or years depending on how long it takes to reach the inevitable number. That’s what this was about last September. It’s what it’s about now. And it’s what it will be about if Jackson ultimately plays the 2023 season under a franchise tag. The shell game of trying to focus it on any other issue is not a good idea.

That should have been the takeaway in Thursday’s news conference, when Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and general manager Eric DeCosta reaffirmed the same thing they’ve been saying since the start of this negotiation: They want Jackson as the Ravens’ long-term starting quarterback; they want to get a deal done; and they aren’t in a hurry to publicly detail why this is all taking so long.

Yet, it was still treated as a revelatory news story, despite being the exact position that the organization has taken since the beginning of negotiations. How Certain Is the team that Jackson is the future quarterback? Harbaugh can add some rhetoric to make the point more clear.

“One hundred percent — you know, 200 percent,” Harbaugh said Thursday. “There’s no question about it. Lamar Jackson has been our quarterback. He’s been our quarterback. Everything we’ve done in terms of building our offense and building our team, how we think in terms of the people around him, is based on this incredible young man and his talent and his ability and his competitiveness

Yes, if you’d forgotten the platitudes about hard work and communication and optimism, there was no shortage of them Thursday. Jackson’s input was just as important as Jackson’s window dressing ideas. the next offensive coordinatorTo the investment in the wide receiver deep chart to the surrounding offensive players being poised to compete

These are positive signs that Jackson wants to return to the Ravens, it is certain. The franchise has not said it. doesn’t Jackson should be returned. What the Ravens have said — repeatedly — is that this is a tough negotiation in progress. That the two sides haven’t gotten a deal done. It is clear that not all contract negotiations are easy or quick.

Thursday was really a one-sentence news conference that could have ended with DeCosta’s first line about his confidence in getting Jackson’s extension done: “It certainly takes two to tango.”

That’s it. That’s it. That’s the message that this is in the same place it has been from the start, with two sides staring at each other and trying to figure out the precise contract number and set of guarantees that keeps Jackson in the fold long term.

There are many options for resolving the issue. They are just as straightforward as in August. Baltimore can meet Jackson at the total guaranteed money that he’s seeking or Jackson can soften his stance on how close he comes to a fully guaranteed deal. If neither happens, Baltimore can seek continued control of Jackson’s future with franchise tags and he can either go along for the ride or refuse and force a trade.

This has been the path forward for many years, with many bridges to cross. Negotiations resume where they left off this week. Next month is the last chance for Jackson to have the exclusive franchise tag. This could lead to a potential salary of $45 million. Or a nonexclusive tag which would be approximately $32.5 million. Jackson would only be allowed to negotiate with the Ravens if he was granted an exclusive tag. Jackson could negotiate a free-agent agreement with other teams. Baltimore would then be able to match the deal, or receive two first-round draft selections in compensation.

The tag window will open on February 21 and run until March 7. If the two sides don’t have an extension done by then, Jackson will absolutely be tagged. This is a foregone conclusion.

Jackson will now have to make a decision on what the move is and how to respond once he has been tagged. He would likely decline to sign an exclusive tag immediately and stay away from the team for the entire offseason. Most likely yes. Would he negotiate a deal with another team if he’s strapped with a nonexclusive franchise tag? Most likely, yes. This all points to a significant crossroads. Absolutely.

One way or another, we’re going to find out how insurmountable the gap is between Jackson and the Ravens. Either through the use a specific tag, or Jackson’s reaction to it. The key out is still a mystery, even though it was a mystery when negotiations began last September.

This is Rodgers Road. There will be plenty sideshows and resolutions. Money remains the main attraction. As it has been for all time.