Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson had to exit Week 13’s game early due to injury, but the team is cautiously optimistic about his health moving forward.
At the end of the first quarter, Jackson was sacked from behind by Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper. Jackson was able to walk off under his own power to the medical tent and went into the locker room accompanied by medical staff; he was later ruled out for the rest of the game.
Week 13 marks Jackson’s first instance of missing snaps this season, which happens to coincide with the last time Jackson got injured in 2021. Jackson hurt his ankle in Week 14’s matchup against the Cleveland Browns last season and sat out for the final four games of the year. The Ravens ended up losing every single one of those games and missed the playoffs.
This year, Jackson has led Baltimore to the top of the AFC North once more, but his knee injury could yet again jeopardize the Ravens’ postseason hopes.
Ravens provide cautiously optimistic update on Lamar Jackson in Week 13
John Harbaugh provides injury update for Lamar Jackson & Patrick Queen
— Kyle Phoenix Barber (@KylePBarber) December 4, 2022
Lamar has a knee thing.
Sounds questionable for next week vs. Steelers
Queen has a thigh bruise. X-rays were negative pic.twitter.com/EFbuV0xNvs
#Ravens coach John Harbaugh indicates Lamar Jackson’s knee injury is not season ending. He said it’ll be days or weeks. … My understanding is it’s a knee sprain based on initial tests. He’ll have an MRI and other tests tomorrow.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 4, 2022
Head coach John Harbaugh said this about Jackson’s injury after the Broncos game:
"“It’s going to be a number, days to weeks. We’ll see. We’ll see if you can go back this week. If not, it’ll be sometime after that shortly.”"
Harbaugh also noted that Jackson will undergo more testing on Monday, and that the team would find out by Wednesday at the latest regarding the severity of Jackson’s injury.
Jackson has dealt with relatively minor injuries throughout 2022, missing practices here and there, but he could hardly be considered an injury-prone quarterback. His recent knee issue bodes serious consequences not just for the rest of the Ravens’ season, but for Jackson’s future with the franchise as well.
Jackson is currently playing out the final year of his rookie contract and has not reached a new contract extension with Baltimore yet. If this injury sidelines him for a significant chunk of time in 2022, Jackson will lose considerable bargaining power when the offseason comes around.
For now, the Ravens can only hold their breath as they await further tests on Jackson’s knee.