The Baltimore Ravens are "fervently hopeful" that a deal with Lamar Jackson will get done.
Jackson's future with the Ravens remains uncertain ahead of Tuesday's franchise tag deadline, with the quarterback yet to sign a long-term contract.
The Baltimore signal-caller, who represents himself rather than employing an agent, reportedly wants a fully guaranteed deal, but the Ravens are reluctant to offer that, meaning talks have been deadlocked.
"You can't win in this league without a strong quarterback. I mean, that's been proven," Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said.
"We want Lamar here. We think he's one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He's certainly one of our best players, and we want him back.
"We understand that living in a world without a quarterback is a bad world to live in."
DeCosta voluntarily said that few teams have made more trades than the Ravens since he became GM four years ago but had no plans to offload Jackson.
"I covet great players. I covet quarterbacks. And I love Lamar," DeCosta said. "That has not factored in one time with me. We want to do what's best for the club. We try to do what we can for Lamar. We want to make everybody happy."
The Ravens can place the franchise tag on Jackson before Tuesday's deadline, but would have to create more room in their salary cap to fit the QB's tag under the cap.
The exclusive tag is projected to cost Baltimore $45.2million, while a non-exclusive tag would be around $32m, but the latter opens him up to offer sheets from rival clubs.
"Both understand the urgency of the situation," added DeCosta, before reiterating he remains "positive" on agreeing a new deal.
"I've seen a lot of deals happen when things look bleak, or I haven't seen deals when I would've thought it was a slam dunk," he said. "It takes two people to do it. I remain positive. I have no reason not to remain positive."
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said he was "200 per cent" that 2019 MVP Jackson wanted to remain with Baltimore.
"He's my quarterback, he's my guy," Harbaugh said. "I love him. As a coach, I'm looking forward to seeing it get done but it's not easy. It's the business part of it but I'm fervently hopeful and excited.
"We've been texting back and forth here and there ever since the season was over. I feel like 'Mar is doing really well. It's just part of the business, it's what you expect when you have a great quarterback."
Jackson threw 17 touchdown passes with a 62.3 per cent completion rate across 12 starts in the 2022 regular season, which was cut short due to a knee injury. His 2021 campaign was also impacted by an ankle injury, Jackson again making only 12 starts.