The Baltimore Ravens are on the outside looking in on the 2025 NFL playoff race. Star quarterback Lamar Jackson has missed chunks of the year due to various injuries, and the team still hasn’t been able to get over the hump.
Could the two sides part ways? It might not be as far-fetched as one would expect.
Lamar Jackson Trade Would Have Significant Impact, Financial Benefits for Ravens
Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun speculated that Jackson’s durability issues, his current contract, and locker room unrest could all factor into the Ravens making the bombshell decision to trade their franchise quarterback. A potential trade might rank as the biggest trade in NFL history, but quarterback deals have become more prevalent over the years.
If the Ravens trade Jackson, it would free up $17 million in 2026 cap space. More notably, however, a deal this offseason would save Baltimore over $74 million in cap space in 2027. That financial flexibility, along with the massive haul of draft picks they’d receive in a trade, would be a huge boost in their reset for life after the two-time MVP.
Jackson would be a major upgrade at quarterback for most NFL teams, but not all teams would pursue a trade. With a need at quarterback and potential financial flexibility in mind, these four teams stand out as potential landing spots for him.
Las Vegas Raiders
In the aforementioned article by Ravens beat writer Mike Preston, the Las Vegas Raiders were listed as one team Jackson would be willing to play for, the other being the Dolphins. In particular, Preston noted that Tom Brady, who is a partial owner of Las Vegas’ franchise, is a big fan of Jackson.
The Raiders have the cap flexibility to take on Jackson’s massive contract, as they sit with over $104 million in cap space heading into the 2026 offseason. They also have a massive quarterback need; Geno Smith ranks 34th in the NFL among 44 qualified quarterbacks in PFSN’s QB Impact grading.
Jackson would be moving to an inferior team, as the Raiders currently sit at 2-13 for the 2025 season. That said, they’d still have plenty of cap space to work with this offseason, even after acquiring his massive contract. Those additions, along with key young talents like Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers, could get Las Vegas back on track.
New York Jets
If there’s one team in the NFL that currently has the draft capital to easily pull off a trade for Lamar Jackson, it’s the New York Jets. They have two first-round picks and two second-round picks in 2026, and they also have three first-round picks in 2027. They could deal with multiple high-value selections and still have something to work with in the draft.
The Jets also have the financial flexibility to acquire Jackson, as they sit with over $90 million in 2026 cap space. They’ll presumably have more than that, depending on what designation they use when they inevitably release current quarterback Justin Fields.
Like the Raiders, the Jets would be a step down in terms of supporting cast from what Jackson currently has in Baltimore. That said, this would be the one landing spot where a trade wouldn’t totally cripple the team’s ability to select high-level prospects in the NFL Draft.
New York could either give up capital and trade up in a weak quarterback class for a rookie or acquire Jackson. The latter seems like an easy choice.
Miami Dolphins
As previously mentioned, the Miami Dolphins would be a preferred destination for Jackson should the Ravens trade him. It makes sense, after all: the weather is nice, there’s no state income tax in Florida, and Jackson grew up in Pompano Beach, which is roughly an hour outside of Miami.
The biggest problem is that the Dolphins aren’t exactly rolling in cap space currently. Without any major adjustments to the books, they sit just 29th in the NFL with -$12.5 million in cap space.
Obviously, that’s not enough to take on Jackson’s contract. But if they can find a team willing to trade for Tua Tagovailoa, they would make massive progress.
From there, the Dolphins would likely have to restructure the deals of pricier talents like Jaylen Waddle, Austin Jackson, Bradley Chubb, and Zach Sieler. They’re not a great team, but at 6-9, they’re definitely better than the previous two teams on this list.
Acquiring Jackson would surely increase their chances of getting back into the playoffs, assuming he stays healthy.
Arizona Cardinals
It’s been a frustrating 2025 for the Arizona Cardinals. Kyler Murray regressed to the point of being benched in favor of journeyman veteran Jacoby Brissett.
They’ve remained competitive in games regardless of who’s at quarterback, but they’re 2-8 in one-score games. Playing in 10 close games is respectable, but the Cardinals’ inability to finish has doomed them.
Because of that, I’d argue Arizona is better than the 3-12 record it sits with going into Week 17. The Cardinals have young targets in the passing game like Trey McBride, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Michael Wilson.
Neither Brissett nor Murray has been particularly bad this year, but it’s clear that neither is the face of the franchise who can lead the team to victory in tight battles.
Going into the 2026 offseason, the Cardinals have over $39 million in cap space. If they find a trade partner for Murray, they would free up an additional $35.3 million in space for the offseason.
If they can dump him off to a QB-needy team, the first call they should make is to the Ravens to inquire about how to get a trade for Jackson done.
