I do think it is strange that the Ravens are being portrayed as a cheap franchise or they are low balling Lamar. Maybe that is true but I haven't seen evidence of that. This org made Flacco the highest paid QB (at the time). They locked up Andrews with the most guaranteed money for a TE ever in 2021. Yeah Orlando Brown wanted top LT money and the Ravens didn't pay him but that is because they already had a top 5 LT salary on the books. They just made Roquan Smith the highest paid LB in the league. They generally pay to keep what they consider their core players.
It really seems simple to me, Lamar wants Watson's deal, the Ravens are saying that deal is an outlier and they aren't and won't be the Browns. They offer Lamar something a little more than the Russ or Kyler extensions, when he turned it down they said "ok good luck getting the Watson deal from another team".
I can't speak for everyone, but I don't think the Ravens are coming off as cheap. At this point, I think they may be happier if Lamar wasn't on the roster anymore . . . but they can't come out and say that for fear of alienating the fan base.
I liken this whole situation to the Red Sox and Pedro Martinez back in 2005. Martinez was 32 and obviously an all-time great pitcher, having won 3 Cy Young Awards. He had just helped the Sox win their first title in 80+ seasons. But he was not as sharp that year (his ERA was almost double), he suffered a shoulder injury, and there was some concern about how long he could keep at it and be a difference maker. His velocity and movement had dipped some.
Boston knew that they had to come off looking like they tried their best to re-sign him to shift the burden to Pedro as the one that chose to leave. But they didn't really want him back for what he was asking. The Red Sox front office indicated publicly they really wanted him back, were making him fair market offers, and were looking forward to his return. They intentionally offered less money and fewer years than other teams, and he ended up leaving to the Mets for 4 years/$50M. Pedro for the Sox had an ERA+ score of 190. With the Mets, that fell to 109 (league average is 100). He averaged 19 starts for the Mets (vs. 29 a year for Boston). I am pretty confident the Sox brass breathed a sigh of relief when Martinez left town. Of course, they did the whole thanks for the memories thing when he left, and they ended up playing the whole thing like PR geniuses.
We'll have to see how things progress with Jackson, but it would not shock me if Lamar and the Ravens front office are looking for an exit strategy that makes sense for both sides. It could end up that there isn't one, and both sides may have to put on a pretend happy face and continue to coexist and work together. For now, I don't feel a lot of warmth or love when one discusses the other.