Ravens GM sees more ‘urgency’ in reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta has seen a different Lamar Jackson on the field this year, and it goes beyond the reigning NFL Most Valuable Player’s weight loss.

“What I’ve noticed about Lamar really is more of an intangible thing,” DeCosta said Thursday. “His urgency as a leader, his urgency with the other players. He’s just really in tune with the other players every single day in practice. He’s so engaged with the coaches, he’s engaged with his teammates. Heck, he’s engaged with me.”

DeCosta said Jackson talks to him about personnel, and it happened just after a recent practice.

“He just really wants to win badly, and I think I’m seeing that as a player,” DeCosta said. “I’ve always known that, but now I’m seeing his personality kind of come out more where I can really get a sense that this guy is so hyper-focused on this season and really working to get a ring.”

In his six-year career, Jackson has been one of the league’s most successful quarterbacks, winning two NFL MVP awards and leading the Ravens to the best record in the league twice. But Jackson has struggled in the playoffs, going 2-4 in the postseason and failing to advance to a Super Bowl. Jackson and the Ravens lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 17-10 in last season’s AFC Championship Game.

When Jackson entered the league as a 21-year-old first-round pick, he was known more for his speed and big-play ability than his leadership. Now, at 27, Jackson has tried to become more vocal with teammates.

“They’re not used to me speaking that much, probably in the locker room playing around,” Jackson told the Ravens’ podcast “The Lounge” this week. “But, on the field, they’re seeing another side of me. I’m hungry. So everybody has to be hungry.”

DeCosta did point out that he has seen a difference in how Jackson is moving. Jackson was down to 200 pounds this offseason, which is 15 pounds lighter than last season and 30 pounds below his 2022 weight.

“He looks fast as heck,” DeCosta said. “He looks really, really fast.”

Jackson and the Ravens open the NFL season on Sept. 5, when they play at the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs.