The NFL doesn’t mess around when it comes to teams not following the rules when it comes to injury reports â any sort of subterfuge or gamesmanship is absolutely not tolerated. There’s no gray area.
Messing with an injury report comes with a massive fine and, in the case of the Baltimore Ravens, maybe something even more punitive as the NFL investigates what exactly happened with 2-time NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson’s listed status leading up to a week 8 win over the Chicago Bears.
Jackson’s status on the injury report during the week indicated he was going to play against the Bears, but he did not. Tyler Huntley started in his place and led the Ravens to a 30-16 win.
“There could be a significant fine and their could be a punishment of losing draft picks,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said on Thursday, October 30, before the Ravens played the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football in Week 9.
While a fine by the Ravens should probably be expected at this point, losing a draft pick might be a way the NFL sends a message to the rest of the league.
Ravens Said One Thing, Did Another
Jackson has missed the last 3 games after he injured his hamstring in Week 4 but returned for the Thursday Night Football game against the Dolphins.
For the last week, the NFL has looked into why Jackson was listed as a full practice participant during the week before playing the Bears while only taking scout team reps â a direct violation of the NFL’s policy on injury reports.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has continued to deny wrongdoing in regards to Jacksonâs injury report status.
âIt really is an honest mistake,â Harbaugh told ESPNâs Jamison Hensley on October 26. âI can tell you this: Nobodyâs trying to hide anything. Thereâs no advantage to be gained with that.â
Tell that to the Bears, who likely spent a good chunk of time leading up to the game preparing for Jackson and ended up facing Huntley â 2 vastly different quarterbacks.
In 2023, former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith was fined $25,000 and the team was fined $75,000 over an incident with running back Bijan Robinson.
In 2019, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was fined $25,000 and the team fined $75,000 for a similar injury report incident with former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Losing Draft Picks is Another Level of Punishment
The NFL traditionally takes draft picks from teams when the penalty is egregious enough.
While the Ravens aren’t probably in danger of losing a first round pick, there have been 3 times that penalty has been warranted, and twice by the same team.
The New England Patriots lost their 2008 first round pick over Spygate. They lost their first round pick again in 2016 over Deflategate, when quarterback Tom Brady was caught illegally adjusting the pressure of the football. For Deflategate, the Dolphins were also fined $1 million.
In 2023, the Dolphins became the only other team to lose a first round pick as the result of tampering allegations. In that case, owner Stephen Ross was also fined $1.5 million and suspended through the first month of the regular season and vice chairman Bruce Beal was also fined $500,000.
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