Baltimore Ravens News & Rumors

Dec. 19: Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Jackson is dealing with a bone bruise in his ankle and not an ankle sprain. Schefter adds that while it might still be difficult for Jackson to suit up for today’s key matchup with Green Bay, the 2019 MVP was at least moving better in practice this weekend and has an outside shot at playing (Twitter links).

Dec. 16: Lamar Jackson didn’t practice again today (per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic on Twitter), and his status isn’t looking good for Sunday’s game against the Packers. Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (on Twitter), it’s “looking like an uphill battle” for the QB to play this weekend.

Jackson exited last Sunday’s loss to the Browns after only 10 offensive snaps, completing all four of his passes. We later learned that the former MVP avoided a high ankle sprain and could possibly play this weekend. However, the QB hasn’t practiced all week, and Garafolo notes that the Ravens were hoping that Thursday would be the day that Jackson could start preparing for Green Bay. The 24-year-old obviously did not practice, putting his status in serious doubt.

“The plans are right now, in my mind, for Lamar to be out there,” head coach John Harbaugh said earlier this week. “So we’ll see where it goes this week. If he can go, he’ll go. If not, Tyler [Huntley] will be the quarterback. That’s where we’re at.”

Fortunately, assuming Jackson is out this weekend, he should be back sooner than later. Still, an absence for Jackson couldn’t come at a worse time as the Ravens battle for playoff positioning in the AFC. In 12 starts this season, the QB has completed 64.4 percent of his passes for 2,882 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. He’s also added 767 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

Ravens fans can breathe a sigh of relief…Lamar Jackson is going to be okay, and he could even be on the field this Sunday against the Packers. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh provided some clarity (and optimism) when discussing his quarterback’s sprained ankle earlier today.

[RELATED: QB Lamar Jackson Has Sprained Ankle]

“Lamar has an ankle sprain. It’s not a high ankle sprain, which is good news,” Harbaugh said (via Ryan Mink of the team’s website). “We’ll just have to see what it is from there and how he feels this week going forward and what it looks like.

“The plans are right now, in my mind, for Lamar to be out there. So we’ll see where it goes this week. If he can go, he’ll go. If not, Tyler [Huntley will be the quarterback. That’s where we’re at.”

The diagnosis is good news, and Jackson can now focus on pain tolerance vs. a definitive absence. Jackson exited Sunday’s loss to the Browns after only 10 offensive snaps, completing all four of his passes. Huntley took over once Jackson exited the game with the 23-year-old completing 27 of his 38 pass attempts for 270 yards and one touchdown. He also added 45 yards on six carries, although he also had two costly fumbles.

Baltimore is currently battling for playoff positioning, and a multi-week absence for Jackson would have likely spelled doom for the team’s postseason chances. Fortunately, if the QB is forced to miss any time, it sounds like it’ll only be one week.