By now, news of star quarterback Lamar Jackson’s positive COVID-19 test has gotten around, and it doesn’t look good for the Baltimore Ravens start of training camp.
Pete Gilbert from WBAL TV recently confirmed that Jackson is not vaccinated, which means at a minimum he would have to miss 10 days of camp. The soonest he could take the field is August 6th, which still gives him precious time to practice with the rest of the squad.
Obviously, it’s not a situation the Ravens want to be in, though.
This marks the second time that Jackson has tested positive for COVID-19 in the past eight months.
The Ravens’ player vaccination rate is at 90 percent and rising, but Jackson and running back Gus Edwards have both tested positive and will be sidelined for a good portion of camp.
For a team with Super Bowl dreams, Jackson’s unavailability deals a sickly blow to the team’s overall chemistry.
After adding a few new pieces to the offensive line, picking up Sammy Watkins in free agency, and selecting rookies Rashod Bateman and Tylan Wallace in the draft, the Ravens certainly didn’t expect to be without their most important player come camp time.
Lamar Jackson’s unvaccinated status, positive COVID-19 test not ideal for the Ravens.
Following last year’s disappointing postseason run, Baltimore will be looking to explore more options in the passing game, but they can’t very well do that without Jackson.
In Jackson’s place, backup quarterbacks Trace McSorley and Tyler Huntley will get reps with the first-team offense. The Ravens also signed a fourth quarterback, Kenji Bahar, to the 90-man roster yesterday morning.
While the backups have been doing fairly well at slinging the pigskin to help the offense mesh, the unit just doesn’t look or feel the same.
The players can try to mimic Jackson all they want, but Jackson’s absence still hurts Baltimore at a crucial time when the former MVP was expected to build rapport with the new receivers and identify weaknesses in the offensive scheme.
The starting quarterback-less unit will just have to cope without Jackson for the time being. Given the Ravens’ run-heavy offense, McSorley or Huntley probably won’t make huge impacts, and they definitely won’t be taking Jackson’s job anytime soon.
No one fits in the Ravens’ offense as Jackson does, and this lost camp time could prove costly this year. Prayers up for Jackson, and finger-crossed hopes that he will come back even stronger and even hungrier to win.