How Ravens, John Harbaugh are addressing changes to Lamar Jackson’s supporting cast

ORLANDO, Fla. — When Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh entered the AFC coaches breakfast at the NFL’s annual meetings Monday, it became apparent how much has changed for the franchise.

It was at this same event last year when quarterback Lamar Jackson announced on social media that he had requested a trade from the Ravens as soon as Harbaugh sat down with reporters. When someone pointed out Jackson hadn’t posted anything on Monday morning, Harbaugh reached for his phone, saying, “I can’t believe he missed the opportunity to do that. I should text him right now. That is too classic.”

The Ravens have gone from dealing with the low point of stressful contract talks with Jackson to joking about it. This is what happens in a year after Jackson signed a five-year, $260 million contract, led the Ravens to the first home AFC Championship Game in franchise history and won his second NFL Most Valuable Player award.

With Jackson in his prime, Baltimore is the favorite to win the AFC North and has the third-best odds to win the Super Bowl behind the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, according to ESPN BET.

“[Jackson has] been great in terms of coming back and really buying in,” Ravens president Sashi Brown said. “I thought Eric [DeCosta, Ravens GM] and John and Oz [Newsome] and Steve [Bisciotti, Ravens owner] did a great job just sticking through it last year and really putting some pieces around him so that he could feel successful and see the commitment to him as well.”

All of the questions about Jackson’s future have now been replaced by the ones involving the pieces around him in 2024. Nearly half of Jackson’s supporting cast — three new starting offensive linemen and running back Derrick Henry — will be different.

Here is what Harbaugh had to say about where the Ravens stand at offensive line, wide receiver, running back and backup quarterback:

Offensive line

The Ravens are rebuilding their front after not re-signing a couple of free agents — right guard Kevin Zeitler (now with Detroit Lions) and left guard John Simpson (New York Jets) — and trading right tackle Morgan Moses. Baltimore can find a starter with the No. 30 overall pick in April’s draft or in free agency. The Ravens can also see whether any of their young players drafted over the past three seasons can step into a starting role: Daniel Faalele, Ben Cleveland, Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu and Andrew Vorhees.

Harbaugh expressed excitement for former Pro Bowl left tackle Ronnie Stanley to regain his form and praised Tyler Linderbaum for being the NFL’s top center.

“We’ve got to find who the next guys are going to be,” Harbaugh said. “We have the guys in-house. We have free agents that we signed. And then we’ve got the draft. I’m confident that we’ll have a very good offensive line.”

Wide receiver

There’s no question that Zay Flowers is the Ravens’ top receiver. He is coming off a rookie season in which he accounted for 41.6% of Baltimore wide receivers’ catches (77 of 185) and 39% of its wide receivers’ receiving yards (858 to 2,216).

As far as the No. 2 wide receiver, Rashod Bateman continues to get a strong push this offseason from team officials. Last season, Bateman caught 32 passes for 367 yards and one touchdown.

When asked about recent free agent visits by wide receivers Michael Gallup and Josh Reynolds, Harbaugh said, “We drafted two great players in the last three years in the first round. I would think Rashod and Zay would be excited to step to the front together. That’s where it begins.”

Harbaugh indicated that the reason why the Ravens didn’t re-sign Odell Beckham Jr. was a financial one. Beckham played on a one-year, $15 million deal last year.

“We’re in a tight set-cap type situation and kind of was a mutual understanding, I think, that way,” Harbaugh said.

Running back

Henry is the undisputed starter in the backfield, and Justice Hill will help out as a change-of-back runner. It’s unknown when injured Keaton Mitchell (knee) will return this season.

It doesn’t sound like there’s a good chance that J.K. Dobbins or Dalvin Cook will be back to add depth at running back.

“We’re just going to see how that shakes out,” Harbaugh said. “There are some moving pieces to that part. If we bring one of those two guys back, I’d be happy to do it. If we’re not able to do it, we’ll find some young guys.”

Backup quarterback

Harbaugh announced Josh Johnson, a 37-year-old journeyman who re-signed last week, will be the primary backup to Jackson. He won’t compete with Malik Cunningham, who was signed by Baltimore toward the end of last season.

“He can still play at a really high level,” Harbaugh said of Johnson.”He knows the offense inside and out. He contributes to the offense. He and Lamar [Jackson] have a great relationship, so I think he brings so much to us.”