Ravens QB Lamar Jackson rules himself out of Wild Card game vs. Bengals

After weeks of speculation, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson finally sheds light on his current injury situation, ruling himself out of Sunday’s Wild Card matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Jackson was diagnosed with a PCL sprain in Week 13 against the Denver Broncos, but the team declined to reveal how serious the sprain was. On Thursday night, Jackson tweeted the specifics of his injury, describing it as a “grade 2 sprain that was on the borderline of” a grade 3 sprain.

He also noted he has inflammation around his knee and that his knee remains unstable; he ended on a positive message saying he was “still hopeful” that the Ravens have a chance in the playoffs.

This marked the first time Jackson has directly addressed his injury since the Broncos game. In the last five weeks, the team gave contradicting reports on Jackson’s knee injury, initially claiming the star quarterback was “week-to-week” with a recovery timeline of one to three weeks.

That later changed to four to six weeks, per Baltimore’s medical staff. After Jackson missed Week 18 against the Cincinnati Bengals and failed to practice in any capacity, it was becoming more and more apparent that he wasn’t fully healthy and may not recover in time for the postseason.

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Ravens’ Lamar Jackson provides clarity on his troubling knee injury ahead of playoffs

Hopes were high that Jackson could make it in time for Sunday’s Wild Card game against the Bengals, but it seems he has ruled himself out, unable to give “100 percent” of himself to the team.

One could argue that the Ravens don’t need the full 100 percent, that even a hobbling Lamar Jackson is more effective than Tyler Huntley or Anthony Brown; however, Jackson has his own health concerns to consider as there is a possibility he could exacerbate his current injury.

Those claiming Jackson is holding out for a mega-extension are simply in the wrong. For one, Jackson didn’t need to be so transparent about his injury but did so in order to take some pressure off his team.

For another, Jackson’s grade 2 bordering grade 3 sprain is extremely serious and “close to a complete rupture of the PCL.” Surgery is the preferred path for such injuries, yet the fact that Jackson continued to try to get back onto the field for the last two months rather than end his season early reveals his honorable intentions.

The lone good news for Baltimore is that Huntley appears on schedule to play on Sunday despite still dealing with shoulder and wrist injuries. Huntley didn’t throw a pass in Wednesday’s practice but resumed throwing on Thursday.

Here’s to Jackson’s swift and successful recovery.