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The Baltimore Ravens playoff chances hang in the balance this weekend, as a loss to the Green Bay Packers would mathematically eliminate them. Their chances aren’t looking any better by the day. Quarterback Lamar Jackson exited the Ravens’ 28-24 loss to the New England Patriots to with what was determined to be a serious back contusion. In the days leading up to the Ravens’ game against the Packers, Jackson has yet to practice due to the back contusion as of Wednesday.
This isn’t new for the Ravens, as Jackson has missed at least one practice the previous six weeks due to some sort of injury or illness.
Mike Preston, a columnist for the Baltimore Sun, published a recent article (subscription required), suggesting that the Ravens trade away Jackson instead of signing him to another contract extension. Preston had interesting comments, including a disconnect between Jackson and Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.
“It’s clear that coach John Harbaugh has become tired of Jackson, even though he builds him up after every game. He has to, or Jackson will go into his own self-exile,” writes Preston.
“The Ravens should look at possible trades, which could net them two or three first-round draft picks.”
Don’t get us wrong, the Ravens trading away Jackson would be a true bombshell. Jackson is a two-time NFL MVP and helped lead the Ravens to multiple playoff trips. But there’s no denying that his play has dropped off this season, which can be attributed to the injuries. So where could Jackson feasibly end up in a trade? Here are four that make sense.
4 Lamar Jackson trade fits
Miami Dolphins
Let’s start with the team that Preston extensively talks about in his column, and that’s the Miami Dolpins. Preston suggested that Jackson “would love to play in Miami,” considering he is from South Florida. It just so happens that the Dolphins may have an opening at the position.
The Dolphins did overcome a slow start to the season to keep them alive in the playoff hunt before getting recently eliminated. Last week, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel made a huge move in benching starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in favor of third-string rookie Quinn Ewers. This move hints that the Dolphins are ending the Tagovailoa experiment after what has been a rough season for him.
Through 14 games, Tagovailoa threw for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions on a 67.7 completion percentage.
The Dolphins are set to have a new general manager after parting ways with Chris Grier. Whoever the Dolphins hire, they will have to decide whether they want to hold onto Tagovailoa, who received a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension last year. Whether they trade Tagovaioloa or cut him, the Dolphins will have to eat a significant amount of dead money to move on from him. Yes, even if Tagovailoa were to get flipped in a trade.
Las Vegas Raiders
Now, let’s get to the second team that Preston mentioned in his column — the Las Vegas Raiders. It’s no secret that the Raiders are competing in the latest edition of “The Tank Bowl” against the New York Giants. The loser of Sunday’s game will clinch the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
If the Raiders were to earn the No. 1 pick, they should be considered the early favorites to pick Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The Raiders hoped Geno Smith could bring his success over from Seattle and the Seahawks by reuniting with Pete Carroll, but his first season has been a disaster.
This season, Smith recorded 2,849 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns, and 15 interceptions in 14 games. Not what the Raiders expected from Smith, who they signed to a two-year, $75 million contract extension.
Preston brings up that Tom Brady, a partial owner of the Raiders, “has shown a fondness for” Jackson. Could the Raiders decide to go all-in to bring in a multi-time NFL MVP to play quarterback instead of drafting a rookie?
Arizona Cardinals
One team fans need to keep an eye on in the quarterback market this offseason is the Arizona Cardinals. After a 2-0 start, the Cardinals have lost 12 of their next 13 games. It really was quite the free fall from Arizona, especially as they were expected to get into playoff contention. Yet, that hasn’t happened.
Earlier this month, the Cardinals announced they were shutting down quarterback Kyler Murray for the remainder of the season. This came after suffering a foot injury back in the team’s fifth game of the year against the Tennessee Titans. For Murray, he has been injury prone throughout his time with the Cardinals, and hasn’t led the team to success like he did early on in his career. It certainly doesn’t help that Murray carries a $53.3 million cap hit next season.
The NFC West is a gauntlet currently with the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, and Los Angeles Rams. The Cardinals need to make a move to really bring them back into the conversation to potentially win the division. Sure, the Cardinals could try to trade up to draft a Mendoza or even a Dante Moore out of Oregon. But if they want to compete with Matthew Stafford, Sam Darnold, and Brock Purdy, they will need to make a move for a big-time quarterback. Maybe Jackson is that quarterback?
New York Jets
The New York Jets haven’t had competent quarterback play in quite some time. A quarterback hasn’t led the Jets to a Super Bowl title since Joe Namath did back in 1969. This is a team that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2010. It’s been misery for the Jets fanbase.
Even with a former fan favorite in head coach Aaron Glenn, the Jets missed the playoffs in yet another year. That can be attributed to the team taking a chance, a hefty one at that, on Justin Fields, in hopes he could continue to impress after his one-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Instead, Fields showed that he is not a franchise’s answer at quarterback.
He was benched for Tyrod Taylor and eventually shut down for the rest of the season due to a knee injury. Meanwhile, Taylor was relegated to back up behind Brady Cook. Simply put, the answer at quarterback is not in the Jets facility.
The good thing that Jets general manager Darren Mougey did was build up a lucrative supply of draft capital. He traded away cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts for their 2026 and 2027 first-round picks. Then, Mougey dealt defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 first-round pick.
If you are a team looking to trade the Jets a quarterback (or put them in draft position for a quarterback), you have to be salivating. That treasure chest of draft picks will be highly sought after. If the Ravens are even considering moving on from Jackson (which sounds far-fetched for now), landing some premiere picks from the Jets would be ideal.