Lamar Jackson Skips Ravens OTAs as New Coach Jesse Minter Defends His Star Quarterback
Lamar Jackson did not show up for the start of Ravens OTAs on Tuesday. New head coach Jesse Minter did the only thing a first-year coach can do in that situation. He defended his quarterback and moved on.
“Lamar’s been one of our leaders of the offseason program,” Minter said. “He had a couple things going on yesterday and today, and I do expect him to be back soon.” That is the cleanest non-answer you can give about a two-time MVP missing voluntary practice.
The good news for Baltimore is that Jackson is not being shady about it. According to multiple Ravens insiders, he told Minter directly that he would miss the first couple of OTAs due to a personal matter and gave him a return date. The team knows where he is. They know why he is not in the building. They know when he is coming back.
That distinction matters. OTAs are voluntary, but optics still count. Patrick Mahomes shows up. Josh Allen shows up. Jared Goff shows up. When the highest-paid quarterback in the AFC North does not, even for a great reason, the headlines write themselves.
Jackson has been here before. His attendance at voluntary practices has always been hit or miss. He is the rare modern superstar who actually treats OTAs as the voluntary sessions they technically are. He shows up for mandatory minicamp in June. He shows up for training camp. He does not miss games. He has earned the benefit of the doubt.
The Ravens’ bigger problem is what Minter is building around him. Baltimore fired John Harbaugh in January after another playoff exit and brought in Minter from the Chargers, where he was the defensive coordinator. He is 41. He has never been a head coach. He is inheriting a Lamar Jackson team and trying to reshape the locker room culture without losing the guy who makes the offense go.
That balance starts with these OTAs. Minter said he is leaning into pass-catcher reps, which is exactly the right move. Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Mark Andrews, and rookie tight end Brock Bowers were all on the field Tuesday getting work with backup Cooper Rush. Even without Jackson, the offense looked sharp.
The defense is the bigger transition. Minter is the playcaller as well as the head coach for now. That is a heavy plate for a first-year coach. The Ravens have plenty of talent on defense, but they are replacing defensive coordinator Zach Orr’s familiar voice with their own head coach’s installation. It is going to take time.
Adam Schefter weighed in on the Jackson absence as well, downplaying it on his podcast. The Ravens beat reporters did the same. This is being treated like a non-story by everyone close to the team. That is usually how non-stories play out.
The only way this becomes a story is if Jackson misses mandatory minicamp in mid-June, and there is zero indication that is on the table. He is in the second year of his five-year, $260 million extension. He is the face of the franchise. He is not going anywhere.
Minter passed his first PR test. The next one will be on the field, when his quarterback shows up and everyone gets to see whether the new system actually fits the old superstar.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
