“Weird Doesn’t Age Well”: NFL Analyst Weighs In on Potential Breakup Between Lamar Jackson and Baltimore Ravens

Before the 2025 season began, many expected Lamar Jackson to finally break the shackles, beat Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs, and lead the ever-consistent Ravens to a Super Bowl win. But as things stand, this season has turned into one of the most turbulent stretches of Jackson’s NFL career. At 8-8, the Ravens are not even AFC North champions and face a win-or-go-home matchup vs. the Steelers this Sunday.

The major reason behind Baltimore’s decline has been Jackson’s inconsistency and unavailability. He has missed four games outright this season, played through multiple lower-body issues, and finished with career lows across nearly every rushing category. He managed just 340 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, a drastic drop.

But the worst part is that, unlike Joe Burrow, who balls out when he returns from an inconsistent stretch, even when Jackson was on the field, the version fans saw was restrained, careful, and visibly less dynamic. And when a season like that coincides with disappointing team performance, speculation around Lamar’s trade becomes unavoidable.

That context is what led Colin Cowherd to weigh in on the growing chatter surrounding a possible separation between Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. Unlike his usual alarmist hot takes, the analyst, for a change, framed the situation less as a collapse and more as a crossroads.

Cowherd began by acknowledging the obvious: Jackson has given Baltimore nearly a decade of elite football. “Since he joined the Ravens,” Cowherd said, “third-best winning percentage in the league, number one point differential, number two in total points… potentially seven playoff appearances, four division titles, two MVPs.”

In Cowherd’s eyes, that resume alone is enough to ensure that the ending between the two parties (if it happens) need not be ugly.

“Not every divorce has to be Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie,” he said, using the analogy to suggest that successful partnerships can still reach a natural conclusion without bitterness. To Cowherd, eight high-level years of production in any industry would be considered a win, not a failure. Football, he argued, shouldn’t be treated differently either.

Colin even went as far as to say that Jackson shouldn’t be seen in a bad light about his inability to get past elite contemporaries in January with the Ravens.

“Lamar Jackson can’t beat Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes,” he said, before quickly adding context. “Well, not a lot of people can.” In the analyst’s view, that narrative unfairly ignores how rare sustained postseason dominance actually is, even among legends.

That said, where Cowherd’s tone shifted was in describing the present dynamic in Baltimore. Referencing reports from long-time local outlets like the Baltimore Sun, he noted that the relationship between Jackson and Harbaugh has felt “a little weird” over the past year. And that’s where his most pointed observation landed: “Weird doesn’t age well.”

Cowherd made it clear that he wasn’t accusing either side of failure. Instead, he framed it as a matter of timing, health, and trajectory.

Jackson’s injuries have piled up. His $74 million projected cap hit looms large. And the Ravens, still chasing the same postseason ceiling, may be forced to ask uncomfortable questions. “If I could get out from under that cap hit… I would strongly consider it,” Cowherd admitted.

Keeping all this in mind, Cowherd’s take places the breakup rumor with a more nuanced and practical lens.

Jackson and the Ravens may still find their way back to each other. Or, they may decide that eight electrifying years were enough. Either way, as Cowherd suggested, it doesn’t have to end in blame or bitterness. Sometimes, the hardest truth in football is that even great partnerships eventually reach their natural limit. Just like Tom Brady leaving the Patriots.