Another week, another agonizing stretch of uncertainty about Lamar Jackson’s return from his ankle injury. Most signs have been positive — Jesse Minter has said Jackson is day-to-day and making good progress. However, he was held out of practice on Wednesday.
With the unpredictable nature of ankle injuries, this begs the question: Do the Ravens even need Jackson against the Cleveland Browns in Week 6?
If Jackson can play, he will. It’ll be his call. Still, it seems abundantly clear he won’t be 100% for kickoff. If that’s the case, Baltimore might want to hold him out of action.
You can’t risk playing your generational superstar with a bad ankle, especially with how this team looked last week.
Baltimore Ravens may want to entertain resting Lamar Jackson another week, healthy or not
Lamar Jackson doesn’t necessarily have to practice to be ready to play. For a player as good as Jackson, we know that even if he’s a DNP all week, he’ll be at his best on Sunday if he’s healthy enough.
To quote Allen Iverson: We’re talking about practice. Coaches aren’t worried about that for Jackson.
Jackson’s will also try to suit up if he’s able. That’s just his competitive nature. He did that almost all of last season, fighting through a hamstring issue and a laundry list of other injuries throughout the year.
The Ravens might not even need him, though. I mean, no one in the building is thinking about strategically benching Jackson; it’ll 100% be a health-based decision. However, even if he’s close enough to game-shape, they should contemplate sitting him in Cleveland, because Baltimore looked good in Week 5.
This team got it done with Tyler Huntley starting at quarterback against the Atlanta Falcons, and the offense honestly put forth a satisfactory effort. The rushing attack was consistent and productive, while Huntley was accurate and smart through the air, moving the chains.
It helps knowing the Ravens can lean on a capable backup like Huntley. That may reassure them as they consider Jackson’s availability in the coming days.
Baltimore’s playing an inferior opponent, too. The Browns have been solid this year, sitting at 3-2, but they lost to the New York Jets in Week 5. Their offense is lackluster, and their defense is about average — that’s not a matchup that screams a desperate need for Jackson.
Huntley could certainly outduel that group if given the start. More importantly, Derrick Henry would have a golden opportunity to expose a middle-of-the-pack run defense that might be missing several members of their front seven.
Ankle sprains aren’t something to mess around with either. As with anything, you risk re-aggravating the injury if you return too early, and for someone like Jackson who’s on the move a lot and is in danger of countless hits, that risk heightens.
Simply put, if Jackson isn’t a full participant this week, it should be an easy decision for the Ravens to rest him on Sunday. That’d be more trouble than it’s worth.
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