Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has no doubt about his team's quarterback plans for the future, guaranteeing they will pick up Lamar Jackson's contract option.
There has been speculation over Jackson's future in Baltimore, where he was named the NFL's MVP in 2019 – the year after Baltimore selected him with the final pick in the first round of the draft.
Baltimore's delay in making a move on Jackson's contract led to reports claiming the Ravens might draft a quarterback and allow the star QB to depart following this season, rather than pay the $23million option for 22.
But on Tuesday, Harbaugh ensured the Ravens will pick up Jackson's fifth-year option by the May 3 deadline.
"His fifth-year option will be picked up. Guarantee it," Harbaugh said on The Rich Eisen Show.
"He's definitely going to be our quarterback. That's the plan, absolutely."
Jackson, who will make $1.8m this season – the final year of his rookie contract – was a unanimous choice as the NFL's Most Valuable Player two years ago.
His performance slipped a bit in 2020 but he remains the NFL's premier dual-threat quarterback, rushing for more than 1,000 yards and scoring seven touchdowns on the ground in each of the past two seasons in addition to his work in the passing game.
Jackson has won more games (30) than any other quarterback since taking over as Baltimore's starter midway through the 2018 season and became the fastest QB in NFL history to reach 30 regular-season victories (37 games).
He is also the first in league history to produce 5,000 passing yard and 2,500 rushing yards in his first three NFL seasons.
Jackson had 242 completions for 2,757 yards – at 64.4 per cent – 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 15 appearances for the Ravens last season.
In total, Jackson has tallied 606 completions, 7,085 yards, 68 touchdowns and 18 interceptions since entering the league.
That all-around excellence has Harbaugh excited to continue building around the 24-year-old.
"The thing he talks about all the time is, he wants to win a Super Bowl, then go from there. That's the kind of mindset you want to have," Harbaugh added. "I think he's a very unique guy. He's a guy that's different in a lot of ways than any quarterback, probably, that's ever played.
"No two players are exactly the same, but Lamar is somebody that breaks the mould a little bit, and he does it in a way a lot of people didn't anticipate.
"They didn't see this coming. They didn't think a quarterback would play in this style. They talked about him playing other positions and all that.
"He's very determined, and we're very determined, to prove those people wrong, and also to kind of pave a new path here and show what's possible with a different type of a skill set."