April 26th, 2018 – Jackson Gets Drafted

After selecting Tight End Hayden Hurst with the 25th pick, it seemed like the Ravens were done for Round 1. However, with the Eagles on the clock and Lamar Jackson on the board, the Ravens pounced on the opportunity to draft the electric dual-threat quarterback out of Louisville. The Ravens sent multiple draft picks to Philadelphia in order to make the 2016 Heisman Trophy Winner the 32nd and final pick of the first round.

June 5th, 2018 – Jackson Signs Rookie Deal

After a little more than a month of conversation with the Ravens, Jackson agreed to a 4 year deal worth $9,471,649 in total which included a $4,968,472 signing bonus as well as a 5th year option, according to NFL writer Kevin Patra.

August 2nd, 2018 – Jackson Throws First NFL Touchdown

With the Ravens Ray Lewis and the Bears Brian Urlacher headlining the 2018 Hall of Fame class, the NFL opted to have the Ravens and Bears face off in the 2018 Hall of Fame Game. In the second quarter of the game, Jackson found fellow first rounder Hayden Hurst for a touchdown, his first as well as Hurst’s first.

November 20th, 2018 – Jackson Makes First Career NFL Start

With starter Joe Flacco injured, Jackson stepped into Flacco’s place and guided the Ravens to a 24-21 victory over their division rival Bengals in his first career NFL start.

December 12th, 2018 – Jackson is Named Starter by Ravens

Despite being healthy and able to return, the Ravens opted to not start Flacco and instead give the starting nod to Jackson, who led the Ravens to a 3-0 record in Flacco’s absence. 

December 30th, 2018 – Jackson Leads Ravens to AFC North Title

Despite not having won the division in over 4 years, the Ravens were able to take down the Browns and secure the AFC North thanks to Jackson’s remarkable performance.

January 6th, 2019 – Jackson Plays in First Career NFL Playoff Game

After going 6-1 in his 7 starts, Jackson once again got the starting nod, this time in a wild card matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. Despite a heroic effort in the 4th quarter, Jackson and the Ravens came up just short, losing 23-17.

April 25th, 2019 – Ravens Draft Marquise Brown

The Ravens showed their commitment to Jackson by giving him a vertical deep threat in Brown, who garnered the nickname “Hollywood” during his college career at Oklahoma. The former Sooner put up 1,318 yards on 75 receptions according to ESPN during his final year in Norman, and gave the Ravens fan base some much needed assurance that Jackson would be the guy going forward. 

September 8th, 2019 – Jackson Goes Off in First Game of Season

Despite facing a lot of scrutiny, Jackson threw for 324 yards and 5 touchdowns in the first game of the season against the Miami Dolphins, according to ESPN. When asked about his performance after the game, Jackson said it was “not bad for a running back” seemingly taking a jab at those who previously questioned his ability to play quarterback in the NFL.

December 12th, 2019 – Jackson Breaks QB Rushing Record

During his second drive of the Ravens Thursday Night Football matchup against the New York Jets, Jackson scrambled on a play and surpassed Michael Vick’s record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a single season. 

January 11th, 2020 – Jackson Falls Apart in Divisional Round

Despite being nearly unstoppable all season long, Jackson and the Ravens collapsed in the divisional round and lost 28-12. In the game, Jackson completed just 52.5% of his passes and threw 2 interceptions, according to ESPN. 

February 1st, 2020 – Jackson Named MVP

Even though he couldn’t put it all together in the playoffs, Jackson received all 50 MVP votes, which made him only the 2nd unanimous MVP ever. For the season, Jackson threw for 3,127 yards and a league leading 36 touchdowns through the air in addition to 1,206 yards and 7 touchdowns on the ground, according to ESPN. 

September 13th, 2020 – Jackson Looks Sharp in First Game of 2020

Despite ending the 2019 season on a sour note, Jackson looked as good as ever in the Ravens first game of the 2020 season against the Browns. In Baltimore’s 38-6 victory, Jackson threw for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns as well as rushing for 45 more yards, according to ESPN. 

December 2nd, 2020 – Jackson Misses Primetime Game Against Steelers

After testing positive for COVID earlier in the week, Jackson was forced to miss his first career game due to injury/illness. Without Jackson, the Ravens struggled and fell to the Steelers 19-14.

December 14th, 2020 – Jackson Leaves Game, Reenters in Win Against Browns

After leaving the game in the second half, Jackson returned to throw the game tying touchdown to Marquise Brown and eventually marched the Ravens down the field again and paved the way for kicker Justin Tucker’s game winning field goal. 

January 10th, 2021 – Jackson Wins First Career Playoff Game

Having gone 0-2 in his first two playoff games, the pressure on Jackson to win in the postseason was seemingly at an all time high. However, Jackson responded in a big way, guiding the Ravens to a 20-17 road victory over the Tennessee Titans.

January 16th, 2021 – Jackson Loses in Divisional Round vs Bills

Despite having knocked off Tennessee on the road the previous week, Jackson and the Ravens struggled mightily in Buffalo, mustering just 3 points en route to losing 17-3.

April 30th, 2021 – Jackson Has 5th Year Option Picked Up

After having a tremendous start to his NFL career, the Ravens made the expected move and picked up Jackson’s 5th year option, meaning he would stay with the organization at least until the end of the 2022 season.

October 11th, 2021 – Jackson Has Performance for the Ages

Despite playing the lowly Colts, the Ravens struggled early and were down multiple possessions entering the 4th quarter. However, Jackson turned in arguably the best performance of his NFL career, completing a ridiculous 86.1% of his passes while throwing for 442 yards and 4 touchdowns, according to ESPN, In the end, the Ravens won 31-25 in overtime thanks to Jackson’s heroic effort.

November 21st, 2021 – Jackson Misses Game Against Bears

Even though he was fine all week, Jackson suddenly felt ill just hours before kickoff in Chicago, and was forced to miss his second career game due to injury/illness. Despite Jackson being absent, the Ravens managed to squeak out a 16-13 win over the Bears.

December 12th, 2021 – Jackson Leaves Game with Injury

In a week 14 matchup against the Browns, Jackson scrambled out of the pocket and completed a pass to Tight End Mark Andrews. However, after he completed the pass, he was shoved to the ground and landed awkwardly on his ankle. He had to be carted off, and missed the rest of the game. Without Jackson, the Ravens couldn’t prevail and lost the game 24-22.

December 19th, 2021 – Jackson Misses Game Against Packers

After injuring his ankle the week before, Jackson was forced to miss his first career start due to injury. In his place, backup Tyler Huntley started, but couldn’t guide the Ravens to victory as Baltimore fell to Green Bay 31-30.

January 9th, 2022 – Jackson Misses 4th Straight Start, Ravens Miss Playoffs

Still recovering from his injury Jackson missed the 17th and final game of the season. Without Jackson, the Ravens lost to the Steelers and were eliminated from postseason contention, ultimately ending their season. 

April 28th, 2022 – Ravens Trade Marquise Brown to Cardinals 

In a stunning move, the Ravens dealt their #1 receiver and former 1st round pick Marquise Brown along with the 100th overall pick in the draft to the Arizona Cardinals on draft night in exchange for the 23rd overall pick. Reports later surfaced that it was Brown who pushed for trade after feeling like he wasn’t being used correctly in the Ravens offense. 

September 9th, 2022 – Ravens, Jackson Shut Down Contract Talks for Season

Two days before the season was set to kick off, Ravens GM Eric DeCosta came out and said that Jackson and the Ravens were unable to reach a new deal during the offseason, so contract talks would be terminated until the end of the season. 

December 4th, 2022 – Jackson Leaves Game with Injury for 2nd Time

In a week 13 matchup against the Browns, Jackson was sacked and landed on his knee. In the process, he sprained his PCL and was carted off. However, even though they were without Jackson, the Ravens won 10-3.

January 15th, 2023 – Jackson Misses 5th Straight Start, Ravens Lose

Without having recovered from his sprained PCL, Jackson was forced to miss his 5th straight game. In his absence, Tyler Huntley once again got the start, but he couldn’t lead the Ravens past the Bengals as they fell 24-17 and were eliminated from the playoffs.

March 2nd, 2023 – Lamar Jackson Requests Trade from Ravens

With Jackson and the Ravens unable to reach a new deal, the former NFL MVP requested a trade out of Baltimore, a shocking move in what seemed like one of the best relationships in all of football. 

March 7th, 2023 – Ravens Place Franchise Tag on Jackson

Despite previously requesting a trade, Jackson was still franchise tagged by the Ravens, keeping him in Baltimore for one more year. 

March 24th, 2023 – Ravens Sign Nelson Agholor 

In an effort to convince Jackson to remain in the charm city, the Ravens signed former first round pick Nelson Agholor to a one year deal. 

April 9th, 2023 – Ravens Sign Odell Beckham Jr.

In a seemingly last gasp effort to convince Jackson to stay, the Ravens signed wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to a one year deal worth up to $18 million dollars. The three time Pro Bowler missed all of 2022 while recovering from a torn ACL, but wanted to find a place to call home for the 2023 season. 

So what’s next for the two sides? Nobody knows. Jackson remaining in Baltimore would be great, but with how the relationship between Jackson and the Ravens seems, that might not be likely. And with so many good quarterbacks in this upcoming draft, the Ravens might just need to start thinking about life after Jackson.