Baltimore Ravens starting quarterback Lamar Jackson has been out with a knee injury since Dec. 4th when he hurt it against the Denver Broncos. Jackson was diagnosed with a PCL sprain that had a time table for one to three weeks. Of course rumors have arrived about all sorts of things between Jackson and the Ravens, for my article on how the Ravens may benefit from a Jackson trade go here.
Jackson has now missed three straight games, he was expected to return to practice last week and play against the Atlanta Falcons. That never happened as Jackson missed practice all last week, and again missed practice all this week.
While rumors have appeared across the internet that Jackson has not been participating in his rehab or treatment I think those rumors are simply not true. Jackson was on the sidelines for the Ravens Falcons games and had a moment with Ravens head coach John Harbaugh in which Harbaugh told Jackson to give Tyler Huntley a hug after the game and that he “loved him”. It does not seem like there is any tension or bad blood between the Jackson and Harbaugh.
The simple explanation is that the PCL injury was more severe than originally diagnosed and may be a grade two strain which would have a timetable for four to six weeks. There has not been many clear answers other than Jackson has not been at practice.
It is rare for a Ravens starting quarterback to miss both games against their biggest rival the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jackson missed the first game in which the Ravens beat the Steelers 16 to 14 on the road and he will likely miss this weeks game.
The Ravens have already clinched a playoff game and they may be taking a better safe than sorry approach. The AFC North division is still very much up for grabs for the Ravens and having a Prime Time game on Sunday Night Football should be more than enough motivation for Jackson and the Ravens for him to be on the field if he was healthy. I think Jackson just is not 100% yet and the Ravens want Jackson to be ready for the playoffs no matter what seed they are in.
I also think that the Ravens are comfortable with Tyler Huntley and Anthony Brown as their quarterbacks to not be in full panic mode and risk playing an injured quarterback. The Ravens may not be putting up huge points but they have won three out of the four games in which Huntley saw most of the snaps at quarterback. I still think the Ravens have a Greg Roman problem not a quarterback problem.
Long story short, Jackson will be back with the Ravens when Jackson and the Ravens feel like he is healthy enough to be back on the field. I do not think Jackson missing from practice have anything to do with Jackson being unhappy or his contract situation.
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