Should Eric DeCosta Have Been Fired with John Harbaugh?
By Michael Brown | Founder and Editor | Drinkin’ Bourbon & Talkin’ Football
September 3, 2026
Baltimore general manager Eric DeCosta said Wednesday that he received “a lot of calls” from other teams and even had trade offers for rookie quarterback Joe Fagnano. Yet DeCosta decided Fagnano had earned a roster spot. What the what????
Eric DeCosta has talked many times about how much he values draft picks since taking over for Ozzie Newsome in 2019. So much so that the Ravens have generally been reluctant to trade up in the first round. This is the guy who stockpiled 11 draft picks last year and was reluctant to give them up to help his franchise quarterback and a team that desperately needed to get over the playoff hump — especially on the offensive line. Are you kidding me?
Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised. EDC is also the guy who stuck with Daniel Faalele on the offensive line for years. With DeCosta and John Harbaugh always preaching, “We like our guys,” Faalele remained in a major role despite repeated struggles. In my view, the protection on the right side contributed to Lamar taking far too many hits last season and missing four games, plus significant time in others. So, is this really surprising? NO, not really!
Faalele aside, let’s take a closer look. What the hell is going on here? OK, you awarded an undrafted rookie quarterback — a guy who was barely on the radar when camp opened — a roster spot. Bravo. He definitely deserved it. Fagnano led the NFL in preseason passing yards and completed nearly 75% of his throws. But tell me why a quarterback who is most likely QB3 and may not see meaningful playing time this year was so valuable that you refused to trade him when other teams were making offers. I’m going to tell you why... Lamar Jackson.
EDC says he is optimistic about contract negotiations with Lamar Jackson. What he doesn’t mention enough is how much leverage Lamar holds. Jackson’s five-year, $260 million extension, signed in 2023, runs through the 2027 season. The Ravens restructured that deal again this offseason, creating nearly $40 million in 2026 cap space while pushing Jackson’s 2027 cap number even higher, to north of $84 million. DeCosta has said publicly that an extension remains important to both sides, but the Ravens in no way, can afford that $84 million cap hit - currently.
Let’s revisit the last negotiation. In 2023, Baltimore placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Lamar, allowing other teams to negotiate with him while giving the Ravens the right to match an offer sheet. Had Baltimore declined to match, the signing team would have owed the Ravens two first-round picks. Several teams quickly said they were not pursuing Lamar. To me, the entire episode felt like Baltimore telling him: Go see what you’re worth. Explore the market. Then we’ll get a deal done.
Now we are approaching another critical point. Lamar’s current deal runs through the 2027 season, and the Ravens clearly want to extend him before then. I believe Lamar when he says he wants to remain with the Ravens and retire in Baltimore, but Lamar isn’t dumb. He has been an outlier from Day 1 in the NFL — the proverbial thorn in their side, or as I would say, pain in their ass. Not because he’s a bad person. Quite the opposite.
He is fiercely private, hardworking and deeply involved in ventures away from football. He has built his own brand and business interests while maintaining a strong connection with kids and the community. Whatever anyone thinks of Lamar Jackson the quarterback, the caricature that sometimes gets attached to him simply doesn’t match the person he has shown himself to be.
And here is what matters for this discussion: Lamar does not negotiate contracts during the season. He does not publicly discuss contract negotiations, and he has historically represented himself rather than using a traditional NFL agent. Lamar is his own man.
So... why not trade your third-string rookie UDFA quarterback for draft capital — or for a player who could fill a role and help your current team and franchise quarterback get to a Super Bowl? Why not use him as an asset to obtain a game ready player, and to build toward the future, instead of letting him toil on the bench or the practice squad? Why?
I think I just explained why, but we’ll see.
Maybe DeCosta genuinely believes Fagnano can develop into a valuable long-term quarterback. Maybe the offers simply weren’t good enough. That is entirely possible. But after years of preaching the value of draft capital, turning down actual trade offers for a QB3 deserves scrutiny — particularly when the roster still has areas that could use help.
And that brings me back to the headline: Should Eric DeCosta have gone out the door with John Harbaugh? I’m not ready to say definitively that the answer is yes. But decisions like this are exactly why the question deserves to be asked.
I still think Lamar ultimately extends in Baltimore. But this time, he holds a tremendous amount of leverage. If he doesn’t like the direction of the franchise, the way the roster is constructed, or how negotiations are handled moving forward, he may decide to play those cards.
MB — DBTFBB