Lamar Jackson: Ravens head coach John Harbaugh opens up on QB's absence

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has been talking about quarterback Lamar Jackson and his recent absence from the team. 

The Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson are currently at something of an impasse right now when it comes to the quarterback and his next contract as time begins to tick away before it becomes too late for both sides.

Jackson is currently entering the final year of his contract, with this upcoming season being the 5th of his NFL career as the Ravens elected to exercise the 5th-year-option on his contract after taking him in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. 

Since then he has been something of a revelation for the Ravens having put up 9,967 passing yards and 84 touchdowns through the air whilst rushing for a further 3,673 yards and 21 touchdowns, although they haven’t been able to turn that into a Super Bowl victory.

As is becoming common with players who are entering the final year of their contract in the NFL, Jackson has opted to stay away from some of the Ravens’ preseason activities, missing their OTAs, which are optional.

His absence has garnered some criticism from those in the media, with Pro Football Talk contributor Chris Simms calling him out for a lack of competitiveness, which forced Jackson to respond over social media:

Lamar wants to be Lamar Chris. This part of OTAs is Voluntary my Guy I will be there, just not on your watch it’s probably other QBs not attending Voluntary OTAs either but since it’s Lamar it’s a huge deal. Find something else to talk about