Eric DeCosta: There’s no player I’d rather have on my team than Lamar Jackson

The Ravens were eliminated from the postseason with Sunday’s loss to the Bills in the divisional round, bringing up some questions about quarterback Lamar Jackson’s postseason performances.

While Jackson did put the team in a position to tie the game late, he also had two first-half giveaways that affected the course of the game.

But General Manager Eric DeCosta doesn’t buy into any of the negative postseason narratives when it comes to Jackson.

“I can say there’s no player I’d rather have on my team than Lamar Jackson,” DeCosta said in his season-ending press conference on Wednesday. “I think he’s the best quarterback in the league. That’s my answer to that question.”

Jackson signed a five-year contract with the Ravens in April 2023, which could be restructured over the coming offseason. But DeCosta said he’s not going to start those conversations with Jackson for a little bit.

“Yes, we’ve seen teams do that,” DeCosta said. "And Lamar and I, we’ve had a lot of discussions about contracts over the years, and at some point, I’ll probably talk to Lamar. I’m just really happy [and] blessed to have watched him play football this year. We just finished the season — I want Lamar [to] relax a little bit and think back to what we accomplished as a team and what he accomplished individually.

“We’ll have those conversations probably at some point. And from what I’ve seen with Lamar, he’s just grown so much — even just over the last couple of years, in terms of his game as a player, as a leader [and] as a person. I love talking to him. We communicate all the time. And as I said, I’m blessed to be with him for the last seven years.”

Jackson is on track to win his third AP MVP award after completing 66.7 percent of his passes for 4,172 yards with 41 touchdowns and four interceptions in 2024. He led the league with a career-high 119.6 passer rating while also rushing for 915 yards and four TDs.