Ravens See the Urgency in Lamar Jackson

Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson is eager to finally get over the playoff hump.

May 4, 2023; Owings Mills, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta answers a question during a press conference alongside quarterback Lamar Jackson at Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Brent Skeen-USA TODAY Sports / Brent Skeen-USA TODAY Sports

There's a different aura surrounding Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson this offseason.

Yes, he's slimmed down quite a bit and regained the speed he showed earlier in his career, but that's not the main difference. Rather than a physical difference, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta believes it to be a mental one.

"What I've noticed about Lamar really is more of an intangible thing: his urgency as a leader [and] his urgency with other players," DeCosta said Thursday. "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; we talk personnel. We [met] after practice, just the other day, talking about personnel. He's got some great ideas and suggestions, and he just really wants to win badly. I'm seeing that. As a player, I've always known that [about him], but now, I'm seeing his personality kind of come out more, where I can really get a sense like, 'This guy is so hyper-focused on this season and really working to get a ring.'"

It's not just DeCosta seeing things either. Jackson, 27, says he's made a conscious effort to become a more vocal leader this season.

"I see that in myself," Jackson said on "The Lounge" podcast. "Sometimes Ronnie [Stanley] will be like, 'Don't be on the guys like that, don't be on the linemen as much.' I'm like, 'Bro, we got to do it, we're getting older.'

"They need to hear that from me sometimes. … Just motivation. Never coming from a bad place. They're not used to me speaking that much. Probably in the locker room, playing around. But on that field, they're seeing another side of me. I'm hungry. So, everybody's got to be hungry."

The two-time MVP has come under constant criticism for his performance in the postseason, and while he may brush off that criticism most of the time, he definitely hears it. While he's still in his prime, Jackson wants to put that criticism to bed once and for all, as does the entire team.

"I don't want to speak for Lamar – but I think we all see an opportunity for us to be a good team this year, and we want to do it this year," DeCosta said. "I just feel an urgency with Lamar. It's great; I love it. That's how I am, and so I really appreciate that quality in others – just the urge to get better and the daily [urge to] improve on things; that's how you win as a team."

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