Campbell among Ravens hopeful of Lamar deal: 'Can't let a guy like him go'

The Baltimore Ravens ended their 2022 season without Lamar Jackson, but multiple members of the locker room made it known that they hope the quarterback sticks around long term.

Speculation has run rampant over Jackson's future in Baltimore after the signal-caller missed the last six games of the season with a knee injury. He also didn't travel for the wild-card loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, though he's been dealing with an illness, ESPN's Jamison Hensley reports.

Defensive lineman Calais Campbell said Monday that it's in the "best interest" of the Ravens to give Jackson a long-term contract, according to Hensley.

"You can't let a guy like him go," Campbell told reporters. "There's always some new exciting kid that has potential to go out there and be great. But this is a business of 'for sures' and 'knowns,' and you know who Lamar Jackson is."

Campbell wasn't the only member of the team to back Jackson, with tight end Mark Andrews also following suit.

"I hope that he's going to be back. That's my guy," Andrews said. "I have nothing but love and respect for No. 8 as a person, as a player, and as a friend."

Jackson went into this season on the last year of his rookie contract after he couldn't agree to a long-term deal with the Ravens before the start of the campaign. Baltimore is reportedly still interested in committing to the star passer and plans to franchise tag him if a new contract fails to materialize.

"He's a competitor. He wants to win," offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley said, per Hensley. "This is his team and this is his offense. The money is not the most important thing with Lamar. He really wants to win, contrary to popular belief."

A former league MVP, Jackson tweeted last week that his knee was still inflamed and unstable due to an injury suffered in Week 13.