Ravens QB Lamar Jackson ruled out for Bears game

The Bears prepared all week to face two-time MVP Lamar Jackson on Sunday. Now they won’t.

The Ravens quarterback was ruled out by the team Saturday afternoon, leaving Tyler “Snoop” Huntley to start.

The Ravens called Jackson a full participant in practice Friday and made him questionable to play Sunday with the hamstring injury that cost him the previous two games. In an unusual move, the Ravens said Saturday he should have been called a limited participant Friday. Then they ruled him out.

Saturday morning, NFL Network reported Jackson ran scout team plays Friday. The league’s injury policy dictates teams must rule players limited if they don’t do “100% of their normal repetitions.” In a statement, the Ravens said Jackson didn’t take starter snaps and they changed his designation “after conferring with the league office.”

A league source said the NFL will look into the matter, as it does any change in participation status.

In 2018, the Dolphins were fined $30,000 and head coach Adam Gase $15,000 for saying quarterback Ryan Tannehill was a full practice participant, only to sit him in a win against the Bears. The optics this time are worse, given the NBA’s gambling scandal that emerged this week. The league’s injury report guidelines state that legal sports gambling requires teams to strike a “careful balance between potential competitive interests and the preservation of the public confidence in the integrity of the game.”

The Ravens believed Jackson would be ready after last week’s bye. He didn’t practice Monday and was limited Wednesday and Thursday. Jackson could return Thursday against the Dolphins.

The 1-5 Ravens’ desperation to win was in part why the Bears prepped for Jackson. Huntley beat the Bears in 2021 when Jackson was ill. Jackson has never faced the Bears.