OCTOBER 29: Jackson himself confirmed on Tuesday that he was back to 100% and would start in Miami, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. He was a full participant in the Ravens’ first two practices of the week and may not even have an injury designation for Thursday night’s matchup.
OCTOBER 26: Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Ravens expect that quarterback Lamar Jackson will make his return from injury in Week 9’s Thursday night trip to Miami, per Jay Glazer of FOX Sports. These reports come on the heels of a weekend of Jackson injury news that could land the franchise in a bit of hot water. 
Way back after Week 6 as the Ravens’ four-game losing streak brought them to 1-5, many assumed that Jackson (and several other injured Ravens) would be coming back after the team’s Week 7 bye. That proved mostly true, as Jackson’s “questionable” designation on the injury report was the only injury designation for any Baltimore player this week. Yet even that injury designation wasn’t exactly what it seemed.
The team had listed Jackson as a full participant at practice on Friday after planning a day of scout team reps for the mobile passer and seeing him complete the day with no issues. NFL regulations concerning injury reporting don’t allow this, though. If injury causes a player that would normally be getting starting reps to practice with the scout team, they have to be listed as a limited participant at practice. After notice from the league, Baltimore was forced to retroactively change Jackson’s practice participation, and the team announced that he would not play in Week 8’s game.
Perhaps, this was an honest mistake, as head coach John Harbaugh reiterated in comments to the media after today’s game, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Perhaps, it was a desperate attempt from a one-win team hoping to get any advantage possible by muddying the waters and keeping Chicago from knowing which quarterback it would be facing. After expressing hopes for two weeks that Jackson would return following their bye, it could certainly have been the latter, but that’s a matter for the NFL’s Management Council to determine.
Regardless, what makes this proclamation different from the ones for Week 8? According to Glazer, while Jackson may have been able to suit up for this weekend’s game, the Ravens were looking at a different benchmark. Because this weekend’s game will be so closely followed with an appearance on Thursday Night Football, Jackson needed to be at a place in which he would be fully confident playing two games in a five-day stretch. It was in the opinion of those involved that there was too high a risk of reinjury for him to play both games, so he was ruled out for Week 8 with an expectation to play back in his old digs in South Florida in Week 9.
With a short week providing fewer practices in which the team can gauge where Jackson is at, it will continue to be difficult to predict Jackson’s availability. Harbaugh certainly gave nothing away in today’s post-game press conference, merely telling reporters that “he’s hopeful that Lamar will play Thursday.”
The Ravens were able to pull off a win today with new backup quarterback Tyler Huntley. In his return to Baltimore, Huntley avoided turnovers, and the offense put up more points today (30) than they had in two games with Cooper Rush under center (13). This moves the team to 2-5 as they take the first of several steps necessary to make an improbable return to the playoffs. If Jackson can return in Miami Gardens, their chances for taking the next step will increase greatly.
Cool first sentence. Really well said.
An honest mistake? Harbaugh has been a coach in this league for how long? The coaching staff has been around for how long? The front office people have been around the NFL for how long? This was deliberate.
And of course, Lamar would miss a game against the 4-2 Bears with a tough team, but will return against the hapless Dolphins.
Hats off to Huntley and the defense though. Caleb Williams looked awful.
I still think Baltimore wins the AFC North. The Bengals just lost to the Jets, have a bad defense, and an ancient QB. The Browns are as bad a team as there is in the NFL, and the Steelers have a bad OL, a very poor receiving corps, and one of the worst defenses in the NFL. When Baltimore beats Pittsburgh twice at the end of the year, they will have the tie breaker in the division. 8 wins should do it.
That ancient QB put up 38 points on the Jets. They should have won. Joe has been amazing for the Bengals.
You mean the only winless team going into this weekend in the NFL? I am not sure I would call that some big feat. Pittsburgh’s defense is awful. There is no sugar coating it.
Yes, and that winless team going into that game scored 39 points against the Bengals. So the point being, Flacco delivered, and they should have won, but the defense is awful. Joe has been dynamite since the trade. He hasn’t thrown an interception in any game he’s played for the Bengals yet.