Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson turned heads this week when he missed multiple practices due to back and knee injuries. Is the NFL’s reigning Most Valuable Player at risk of missing the Ravens’ Week 9 contest against the Denver Broncos? What’s the latest on Jackson’s status? Today, the Ravens quarterback spoke to reporters about his health and whether he’ll play on Sunday.
What Is Lamar Jackson’s Injury?
Initially, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters that Wednesday was a rest day for Jackson, who showed up on the practice report as a DNP (did not participate) with back and knee injuries.
No Lamar Jackson at practice today. John Harbaugh said it's, "A rest day." pic.twitter.com/WTOBY5rJFT
— Morgan Adsit (@MorganAdsit) October 30, 2024
However, Jackson once again missed practice on Thursday with the same injuries. Ravens fans and fantasy managers started to panic, but Jackson returned to practice on Friday.
After Friday’s practice, Jackson met with reporters and offered an update on his health.
Is Jackson Playing in Week 9?
Updated at 11:30 AM ET on November 3
Jackson is active for today’s game.
It’s looking like Jackson will play in Week 9 when the Ravens face the Broncos. After Friday’s practice, Jackson confirmed as much.
Jackson explained that he was just resting his body and that there was never a doubt that he would play on Sunday.
“Just trying to get my body right, keep it fresh,” Jackson told reporters.
Lamar Jackson said he was just resting his body. There was never a doubt he was going to play Sunday.
“Just trying to get my body right, keep it fresh.” pic.twitter.com/0ofDB33m4M— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) November 1, 2024
Harbaugh added that Jackson looked good in Friday’s practice and said that he expects his starting quarterback to play this week.
“He’ll be ready to go,” Harbaugh told reporters. “I’m not worried about it.”
On the Ravens’ injury report, Jackson doesn’t even have an injury designation for Sunday’s game against the Broncos, so there’s officially nothing to worry about here.
How Might Jackson’s Absence Impact the Ravens if Ruled Out?
The Ravens are built around Jackson, so if he was ruled out for Sunday’s game, it would be an enormous loss for Baltimore.
Including playoffs, the Ravens are 4-10 without Jackson since he became a full-time starter in 2019. Starting quarterbacks over that stretch include Tyler Huntley, Robert Griffin III, Anthony Brown, and current backup Josh Johnson.
Things would probably be even bleaker in 2024 given how badly the Ravens’ defense is struggling as of late. While we’re used to Baltimore having a dominant defense (like when last year’s D led the league in scoring defense), this year’s unit ranks 26th in EPA per play and 23rd in success rate.
SEE MORE: NFL Injury Report
From a fantasy perspective, Jackson has been the QB6 or better in six weeks this season, building a profile that looks very much like what Jalen Hurts gave us up to this point a season ago. He’s a must-start every week that he’s healthy.
As for this matchup, Denver’s aggressive defense (second in pressure rate) is a problem for most quarterbacks, but Jackson isn’t most QBs.
Jackson’s splits, 2024:
- Pressured: 108.2 passer rating, 7.0 yards per attempt, and 10.9% TD rate
- Not pressured: 118.1 passer rating, 9.6 yards per attempt, and 5.8% TD rate
Jackson’s next pressured interception will be his first of the season. This Broncos defense ranks No. 1 in PFN’s Defense+ metric, and I’m buying what they are selling — just not against the reigning MVP. But if it’s Johnson under center? That’s a problem.
Without Jackson, it would be tough to trust the Ravens’ passing game options against this defense. If you have options to play beyond Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews (to say nothing of Rashod Bateman or Isaiah Likely), it would be wise to plug in some alternatives if Jackson is out on Sunday.
Derrick Henry is a bit safer, but it’s possible we see a bit of a drop-off in terms of his production and efficiency.
Fortunately, it sounds like Jackson is fine and good to go for Sunday.