Is Lamar Jackson merely being given a rest from practice? Or is the Baltimore Ravens star quarterback genuinely injured with back and knee problems?
The mystery is no closer to being solved after the latest practice report from the team. It revealed two-time NFL MVP Jackson missed a second-straight session.
Jackson wasn’t practicing on Wednesday, but as Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic noted, head coach “John Harbaugh described yesterday as a ‘rest’ day for Jackson, but he’s not out there again today. With two games in five days, Jackson’s status obviously becoming a storyline.”
Ironically, Zrebiec’s post might help decipher the mixed messaging from the Ravens.
Two-Game Duty Might Explain Lamar Jackson Reports
A double-dip home slate against the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals might explain why the Ravens are keeping Jackson’s midweek workload so light. That would make sense given Jackson’s obvious importance to a team with genuine Super Bowl ambitions.
Those ambitions stem from Jackson playing the finest football of his career to date. The 27-year-old has just completed a dominant October where he posted some “scary numbers,” per the Ravens.
Jackson’s dual-threat brilliance is the main reason why the Ravens are leading the league with the most plays covering 20-plus yards, according to statistics from The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia. Defenses face an almighty challenge attempting to subdue arguably the most dynamic athlete in the game at football’s most important position.
What’s setting Jackson apart this year is his maturation as a passer. He’s the most efficient quarterback in the NFL throwing “to the first down marker or beyond,” per Pro Football Focus.
The Ravens still only go as far as Jackson can take them. They already know the cost of life without their QB1.
Ravens Can’t Risk Another Lengthy Lamar Jackson Absence
Jackson missed five games in 2021 with an ankle issue and the Ravens missed the playoffs. He was also laid low a year later.
This time No. 8 landed on the shelf thanks to a sprained knee. The Ravens still managed to make the postseason with eventual Pro Bowl backup Tyler Huntley at the controls, but they were soon one and done courtesy of AFC North rivals the Bengals.
Jackson’s value is best summed up by the mediocre record posted by the Ravens in those games. Harbaugh’s team went 3-8 when Jackson was nursing successive injuries, according to StatMuse.
The numbers plaint a bleak picture of the Ravens outlook with and without Jackson. It’s why it makes sense for Harbaugh to wrap his key player in cotton wool ahead of a busier than usual schedule.
That need has only become greater during a season when the Ravens finally posses the high-powered offense they’ve needed to help beat their championship window before it slams shut.
All of this is self-evident, but these points are also made on the assumption Jackson isn’t legitimately injured. If he is, the Ravens are playing a curious game trying to manage expectations and keep the Broncos and Bengals guessing about the status of the league’s most prolific playmaker.
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