Baltimore Ravens teammate Zay Flowers insists that fans are about to see a new, upgraded version of Lamar Jackson this season, a player who appears revitalized and ready for a fresh start. The Ravens concluded last year with an 8-9 record, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2021 after a crushing defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the final week that cost them the AFC North crown. Jackson, a two‑time MVP, was sidelined for four games due to injuries, and the team stumbled out of the gate with a 1-5 start that forced them into a catch‑up mode for the remainder of the campaign.
Even after returning to the field, Jackson never quite seemed to recapture the electrifying, game‑breaking form that made him a household name. Yet analysts predict that, with a healthier body and a new offensive system, he will emerge stronger as Baltimore renews its Super Bowl aspirations this September. "They're going to see a different version this year," Flowers told Sky Sports. "Under a new system, he gets a fresh start.
He's going to be healthy. He's going to take care of himself, everything. You're going to see a new version of everybody, if I'm being honest.
Soon, real soon, everybody. Real soon." Flowers has cemented himself as Jackson's most reliable target, leading the Ravens last season with 86 receptions for 1,211 yards and five touchdowns. Jackson's own numbers from that campaign show a mixed picture: he completed 192 of 302 passes (a 63.6% completion rate) for 2,549 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions, while his rushing total fell to a career‑low 349 yards—well below the 695‑plus yards he has typically produced. Despite the dip, Jackson remains one of the NFL’s marquee faces and a cornerstone of a team that consistently courts Super Bowl contention.
He has long overcome pre‑draft doubts to become one of football’s most versatile and dynamic play‑callers. "He stayed true to himself.
He doesn't change for nobody," Flowers said, explaining what makes Jackson special. "He doesn't change for anything going on in his life.
He's always going to be him and you can count on that. And I feel like consistency and being yourself and having confidence in yourself and putting God first, you're always going to win. There's nothing that can beat that.
And that's what he got." For Flowers, three years of working alongside Jackson have turned the wide receiver into a student of the quarterback’s wizardry. Younger teammates, such as second‑year wideout LaJohntay Wester, are still awed by the sheer creativity Jackson displays. "It's crazy," Wester exclaimed.
"Some of the things that he does, it's just unreal. I saw him scramble last year in practice and put the ball behind his back, like he was playing basketball.
That's something quarterbacks are not allowed to do. Coaches tell them 'that's something you don't do,' but it's Lamar Jackson, it's Lamarvelous. It's just amazing.
Seeing him work every day, pulling off the stuff you see him do on Sundays, he's doing it throughout the week in practice. It's just him being him at the end of the day." The offseason brought significant changes for Baltimore. After 18 seasons at the helm, head coach John Harbaugh departed, and the Ravens hired former Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter as his replacement. Flowers sees the coaching shift as a chance for everyone to prove themselves.
"It's a new opportunity for everybody," he said. "Everybody who didn't have a chance to prove themselves the way they wanted to under Coach Harbaugh, they got a new chance with Jesse Minter.
And you can feel that energy in the room with everybody. He brings energy.
Everybody wants to play. Everybody is super excited to get that opportunity to just start fresh and push for the same goal we all want— a Super Bowl." Both Flowers and Wester echo the word "energy," acknowledging the boost that Minter's arrival has given the locker room.
Wester added, "I'm very excited. New coaching staff, coach Jesse Minter, he is bringing a new energy into the building. I feel like that's something the Ravens were missing last year, and we got it this year. Everybody is on board, they have a good plan for us." The Ravens have been knocking on the Super Bowl door for several seasons, falling short in the divisional round three times since 2019 and losing an AFC Championship to the Kansas City Chiefs at the close of the 2023 season.
Yet they remain a dominant force in the AFC, determined to break the Chiefs' stranglehold and contend for the title again in 2026. Flowers summed up the competitive atmosphere: "If you look around, you see Derrick Henry, then you look to your right and see Lamar Jackson, you're like, 'oh yeah, I got to get right, I got to grind and I got to put my best foot forward.' It only makes you better with great players around you. It's only going to push you to be the best version of yourself." Opportunities are also emerging for younger players like Wester, who entered the league as a sixth‑round pick from Colorado and spent most of his rookie year as a return specialist.
"I'm a young guy, so just seeing guys like Zay, Derrick Henry, Lamar every day going hard, that made me want to go even harder just to impress them," he said. "I'm growing too, but these guys are already solidified. These guys are legends from my city.
Just to be around them, you don't want to mess up. You want to be on point.
You want to have your ducks in order." In summary, the Ravens head into the upcoming season with a rejuvenated Jackson, a new coaching philosophy, and a roster hungry for validation. The combination of Jackson's refreshed health, Flowers' reliable hands, and Minter's invigorating leadership could finally translate the team's long‑standing ambition into a championship run. The league will be watching closely to see whether this "new version" of Lamar Jackson truly lives up to the hype and propels Baltimore back to the NFL's pinnacle.