Head coach John Harbaugh is saving Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson for the regular season.

Baltimore’s starter is on the shelf again for the Ravens’ preseason finale with the Washington Commanders on Saturday, sticking with the approach Harbaugh and Jackson discussed prior to training camp.

Offensive coordinator Greg Roman wanted to avoid any repeat of the season-ending injury to running back J.K. Dobbins in the 2021 preseason finale with Washington.

“When I sit back and try to think logically through it … I think back to a series here and a series there that we’ve played. What has that really gotten us?” Roman said of the decision not to play Jackson. “Did it make us feel better? It’s like, ‘I feel better; I saw him go out and execute these four basic plays and put a drive together.'”

What is left to be seen before the regular season kicks off Sept. 11 is whether the Ravens will pay Jackson. He is scheduled to make a salary of $23 million under the terms of his rookie contract fifth-year option.

Jackson, representing himself in negotiations rather than using an agent, is scheduled to be a free agent in March. He reportedly declined a massive offer in line with the deal the Kansas City Chiefs gave Patrick Mahomes. In July 2020, Mahomes signed a 10-year, $450 million deal with the Chiefs. Mahomes will make $46.7 million in 2023, or more than double Jackson’s 2022 salary.

Jackson, 25, said he won’t talk contract after the season starts, and his goal remains to be “The (Tom) Brady of Baltimore.”

But he’s not budging on the Week 1 deadline.

“It’s coming up. The season’s coming up. We’re going to be good for the season,” Jackson said.

–Field Level Media