Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson hasn’t played since injuring his ankle against the Cleveland Browns. The Ravens have now lost four games in a row, and they are playing for their playoff lives this weekend. Will Jackson return to the starting lineup, and what can fantasy managers expect from this situation in Week 17?
Update 01/02/22: The Ravens have announced that Lamar Jackson is officially inactive for their game against the Rams.
Is Lamar Jackson playing vs. the Rams in Week 17?
Jackson is a true game-time decision this week. With that said, we can use the information available to lean one way over the other. Jackson practiced in a limited fashion on Wednesday. Multiple reporters suggested that he was limping at times, and Jackson struggled to move on the field.
This practice was followed by a pair of “DNPs” on Thursday and Friday. Although Baltimore hasn’t ruled him out at this point, he’s likely leaning more toward doubtful than truly questionable.
The only real reason that the Ravens would consider playing Jackson this week is that they are in a must-win game with the playoffs on the line. Sunday morning, Ian Rapoport confirmed that it is likely Tyler Huntley starts at QB.
Lamar Jackson’s 2021 production
Jackson took somewhat of a step back in 2021, but he’s still found plenty of success. Through essentially 11 games, he’s thrown for 2,882 yards with 16 touchdowns and 13 interceptions on 382 attempts. He’s added 767 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground as well.
Jackson has seen a ton of touchdown regression from previous years, which was expected. Still, he’s continued to flash as an MVP-caliber quarterback.
Jackson’s best games came against the Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings. He posted 442 yards with 4 touchdowns and no interceptions against Indianapolis. Additionally, Jackson recorded 62 rushing yards in that game. He threw for 266 yards with 3 TDs and 2 INTs against Minnesota. More importantly, he ran for 120 yards against the Vikings.
Oddly enough, these are the only two games of the season where Jackson threw for multiple touchdowns, as he totaled only 3 passing touchdowns with 4 interceptions over his last three healthy games.
How will this impact the Ravens’ offense?
The Ravens’ offense will see a downgrade if Jackson isn’t able to suit up. Tyler Huntley was activated from the COVID list earlier in the week, and he would draw the start for Jackson.
Huntley flashed in three contests this season. He’s averaging 234.7 yards with 1 touchdown and 0.3 interceptions on 38 pass attempts per game. Huntley’s also averaging 52.7 yards and 0.7 touchdowns per game on the ground.
Mark Andrews flashed elite chemistry with Huntley at QB, although it’s tough to believe this would be an upgrade over Jackson.
Nevertheless, Huntley is essentially Lamar Jackson-lite, and the offense wouldn’t be significantly worse. Huntley simply doesn’t boast the same upside as Jackson does.
Are there fantasy points available vs. the Rams?
The Rams have performed well against opposing quarterbacks throughout the season. They rank 25th in the NFL, allowing only 17.2 fantasy points per game to the position.
With that said, Huntley still boasts elite upside if Jackson is ruled out. The best defenses in the NFL against passers can still struggle against signal-callers that boast elite rushing potential.
Los Angeles also ranks as an average defense against tight ends, which will be who Huntley uses for the majority of his success.
If Jackson is starting, he can be considered a risky QB1, as he presumably won’t have his full rushing potential. Huntley comes with QB1 upside, but he’s likely a higher-end QB2 in this particular matchup if he’s starting.