It doesn’t seem like we’ll get any injury report drama in Baltimore this week.
Lamar Jackson is “expected” to be back at quarterback for the Ravens for Thursday night’s game against the Miami Dolphins, head coach John Harbaugh told reporters Monday.
The two-time NFL MVP missed the Ravens’ past three games due to a hamstring injury that he suffered in a Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. It was initially believed that he could return following the Ravens’ Week 7 bye and play against the Chicago Bears in Week 8. It was tracking to be that way, too, with Jackson returning to practice ahead of that matchup. However, Jackson was ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Bears the day prior, despite him being listed as a full participant at Friday’s practice.
The Ravens later clarified that Jackson was only a limited participant in Friday’s practice.
“Lamar Jackson was present for and participated fully in our entire Friday practice ahead of Sunday’s game against the Bears,” the Ravens said in a statement. “Upon further evaluation today and after conferring with the league office, because Lamar didn’t take starter reps in practice, we updated our report to reflect his practice participation.”
The Ravens didn’t need Jackson for Sunday’s tilt against the Bears, with backup Tyler Huntley leading them to a 30-16 win. The win marked the Ravens’ first victory during Jackson’s absence and improved them to 2-5 on the season.
The Ravens could still get in trouble for initially listing Jackson as a full participant at their practice last Friday. A league spokesperson said the NFL would look into the matter, which it does whenever there’s a change in a player’s status. According to league policy, full participation means 100% of a player’s normal repetitions. For example, a player who participates with the scout team during the team portion of practice would still be considered limited if his normal reps would’ve been with the starters were it not for his injury.
Harbaugh said following Sunday’s game that there was no ill intention with how the team originally listed Jackson on their injury report. “It really is an honest mistake,” Harbaugh told reporters. “I can tell you this: nobody’s trying to hide anything. There’s no advantage to be gained with that.”
Beyond the injury report drama, Jackson’s return is welcome news for the Ravens. Despite their poor start to the season, they only trail the Pittsburgh Steelers by 2.5 games for first place in the AFC North, giving the Ravens a chance at making the postseason.
Prior to the injury, Jackson was putting up numbers similar to his play in his MVP seasons and 2024, when he finished second in MVP voting. He’s thrown for 869 yards, 10 touchdowns and an interception with a 130.5 passer rating to go with 166 rushing yards and a rushing score this season.
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