Lamar Jackson was obviously not happy by the way the season ended for him or the team.
The Ravens quarterback met with the media for the first time since injuring his ankle Week 14 against the Browns.
Jackson missed the final four games of the season and probably would not have been healthy enough to play this week if the Ravens had somehow made the playoffs.
“You’ve got to talk to the doctors about that,” Jackson said. “I don’t really know much about how long bone bruises last and stuff like that, but they just told me it’s going to be day to day. Hopefully, it’ll speed up.”
Jackson will play next season under a fifth-year option that pays him $23.02 million as the Ravens try to reach a long-term deal with him. However, Jackson traditionally has been coy when asked about the negotiations for a long-term contract.
This week, he revealed there has been no movement on a new deal. Instead, Jackson said he is focused on getting healthy so that he is ready for offseason workouts.
“No, we haven’t talked about it yet, but I’ve got to worry about getting back right, right now, and getting ready for this offseason,” Jackson said.
Jackson missed the last four games with a bone bruise in his ankle. He finished the season with 2,882 yards passing with 16 interceptions and 13 interceptions (87.0 rating). Jackson was also sacked 38 times, which tied for seventh in the league despite playing only 12 games.
Jackson did offer his view on how the offense can improve next season.
“Be consistent,” Jackson said. “I feel like we have our moments where you could see splashes with the passing offense, and then there are moments where you don’t see anything at all. It’s like, we were just throwing the ball out [of] the park this last week, but now it just stopped. We’ve just got to be more consistent, and with what we’re doing in the pass game, I feel, we’ll be shooting for the stars.”
— Tony Lombardi (@RSRLombardi) January 11, 2022
Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman has taken the brunt of criticism for the team’s inconsistent play this season.
The Ravens were ranked 17th in points per game (22.8) sixth in yards per game (378.8), 13th in passing yards per game (233), and third inrushing yards per game (145.8).
Wide receiver Marquise Brown and tight end Mark Andrews each eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards on the season. It was only the second in Ravens history for two players to reach the 1,000-yard mark in the same season, joining Michael Jackson and Derrick Alexander accomplished that feat in 1996.
That’s not bad considering how many injuries the team endured this season, including the loss of all three running backs on the depth chart in training camp.
“Coach Greg Roman has been great for us for these last couple of years since he stepped in,” Jackson said. “He’s a great coach, and we’re glad he’s here. I can’t get into that. I don’t really know what they’ve got going on upstairs. You’ve got to talk to ‘E.D.C.’ [executive vice president & general manager Eric DeCosta] and those guys about stuff like that. That’s not anything I … I don’t talk about stuff like that. He’s been good for us, though.”
Jackson admitted that much of the offseason will be spent on improving the passing attack. The Ravens lacked explosive plays that could change the momentum of the game.
“We have great running backs, we’ve got a great run game, but that passing game is going to help us even more, so we need to just keep doing that, keep getting better at that; keep getting better at everything – not just the passing game,” he said. “There’s always room for improvement with anything you do.”
