For a while, it looked like Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was ready to make his return. Then, just like that, he was ruled out for a third straight week.
A nagging hamstring injury will keep the two-time MVP out of Baltimore’s Week 8 game against the Chicago Bears. That ruling came Oct. 25, a day after Baltimore listed Jackson as a full practice participant on the final injury report of the week. That designation seemed to indicate a return was likely.
A day later, the Ravens felt compelled to release a statement trying to clarify the situation.
“Lamar Jackson was present and participated fully in our entire Friday practice ahead of Sunday’s game against the Bears,” the team statement read. “Upon further evaluation (Saturday) and after conferring with the league office, because Lamar didn’t take starter reps in practice, we updated our report to reflect his practice.”
Why Ravens Changed Lamar Jackson Injury Designation
According to reports, Jackson took scout team reps during the Friday, Oct. 24 practice, the session in which he was listed as a full participant. That’s certainly misleading, which is why some were perplexed by the abrupt change, questioning whether the organization was being forthright in its injury reporting.
Jackson, who missed the previous two games with the injury, was hoping to return after a Week 7 bye. The Ravens practiced Monday of Week 8, a practice that Jackson missed. He was then limited during midweek practices before his “full” designation in question on Friday.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh revealed in his final press conference of the week that veteran Tyler “Snoop” Huntley would play if Jackson can’t go. Cooper Rush had started the previous two games Jackson missed.
Will Ravens Face Discipline for Lamar Jackson Injury Situation?
To say this is unusual would be an understatement. The Ravens listed Jackson as questionable on Friday, so it’s not like there was a major change in that regard. However, many saw his “probable” status as a major step in the right direction toward playing, and at least one report expressed optimism that Jackson could play.
CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones also reported, citing sources, that Chicago expected Jackson to play, too, as late as Saturday morning.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio wonders if that change, especially in light of the NBA’s gambling controversy, could lead to discipline for the Ravens.
“Retroactively changing a player’s practice status is highly unusual, and could land the Ravens in hot water,” Florio wrote Saturday. The NFL requires teams to release accurate information about a player’s practice status because the NFL does not want insiders passing along information to gamblers.
“If there was ever a week when NFL teams needed to be transparent about that, it was this week, when the FBI arrested an NBA player and an NBA coach amid accusations that they were providing information to gamblers.”
Jones shared a similar sentiment from inside league circles: “This is not the best week to have this happen to you. It wouldn’t be good for any player, but quarterbacks are the most scrutinized,” a league source told Jones.
What adds to the general weirdness of the situation is that Baltimore needs a win badly. The Ravens are 1-5 and are close to needing to run the table to make the playoffs. The Ravens opened as 6.5-point favorites at ESPN Bet, a number that went into free fall after the Jackson news, with Baltimore laying 2.5 at home against a beat-up Bears team.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Ravens Issue Statement After Taking Heat for Lamar Jackson Update appeared first on Heavy Sports.