Lamar Jackson
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For all the great vibes the Baltimore Ravens wanted us to believe were happening within the walls of the team’s facility this offseason with a rejuvenated Lamar Jackson and a new, young head coach in Jesse Minter, the franchise finds itself in the same spot it was in 2025, just 7 games into the 2026 regular season.
The Ravens are struggling. Jackson is hurt. No one knows when he’ll be back. No one even has a clue when he’ll be back, and it’s the same stupid shell game that screwed up last season and threatens to unravel this one.
The problems with Jackson and the “will he/won’t he” injury issues with his high ankle sprain seemed to peak after a Week 7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, where the Ravens led 13-0 at halftime but walked away with a 35-13 loss.
Jackson has missed the last 3 1/2 games after injuring his ankle in a Week 4 win over the Tennessee Titans.
“The feeling in the building was that Lamar was going to play this week … it’s now a mystery as to when he will return,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said on Sunday night. “Nobody in the building can say with any certainty when that might be.”
If this sounds familiar, let us explain why. It’s because it’s happened before.
Bizarre Injury Issues With Jackson Led to NFL Fine
At this time last year — heading into Week 8 — the NFL punished the Ravens for another mystery surrounding Jackson’s injury status.
The punishment — a $100,000 fine — came after a weeklong investigation into how the team listed Jackson, a 2-time NFL MVP, on the injury report before a Week 8 game against the Chicago Bears.
“The NFL has fined the Ravens $100,000 for violating the league’s Injury Report Policy by incorrectly listing quarterback Lamar Jackson’s practice participation status on Friday, October 24, the league confirmed today,” NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account on October 31. “The Ravens fully cooperated with the investigation, which the league determined was the result of negligence and not an attempt to gain a competitive advantage. If the investigation had determined the violation was intentional or competitive in nature, the discipline would have been more significant, including the potential loss of draft picks.”
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Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers, and the entire NFC East Division. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
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