The Baltimore Ravens faced scrutiny after a confusing handling of Lamar Jackson’s injury status, a move coach John Harbaugh called an honest mistake.
The team listed Jackson as a full participant in practice before revising it to limited participation a day later.
Jackson was then ruled out for their Week 8 game against the Chicago Bears, creating a sequence of updates that drew criticism and raised questions about transparency.
Former NFL head coach Jay Gruden did not hold back, openly questioning Harbaugh’s explanation and suggesting the situation was intentional gamesmanship rather than an administrative error.
“John’s a shady guy,” Gruden said. “They all do the same thing. They all try to fudge the injury report, just to mess with the other team. Harbaugh knew what he was doing, don’t lie, John. They should get fined. Although it didn’t make an impact in the game.”
“John’s a shady guy” 😳
The Arena Gridiron Crew thinks the Ravens were being sneaky with Lamar Jackson’s injury status pic.twitter.com/pfE9xX0c6l
— The Arena: Gridiron (@ArenaGridiron) October 28, 2025
The confusion stemmed from how the Ravens reported Jackson’s practice workload after missing three games with a hamstring injury.
He participated in the entire session but did not take reps with the first team, which, under NFL policy, should have classified him as limited rather than full.
The team eventually corrected the report, but the delay fueled speculation about whether the mistake was truly accidental.
Harbaugh explained that a miscommunication occurred between the medical and communications departments, with each group believing Jackson’s workload qualified as full participation.
He named the training staff and public relations personnel when asked who made the call.
Harbaugh noted that under former injury report rules, Jackson might have been labeled doubtful, adding that the Ravens waited until a final medical evaluation to officially rule him out.
Tyler Huntley started in Jackson’s place and helped Baltimore to its highest scoring output since Week 3, the last full game Jackson played.
Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson confirmed his team prepared for Jackson all week before adjusting its game plan after learning he was out.
NEXT: Lamar Jackson Gets Honest About His Pending Return