Things went from bad to worse for the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4, and there’s no more pressing issue right now than the health of quarterback Lamar Jackson.
The two-time MVP suffered a hamstring injury in an ugly loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last week. That injury is expected to keep Jackson out for at least Week 5 against the Houston Texans. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler provided additional insight on how Baltimore might handle Jackson’s injury and why it might be a while before the QB returns.
The Ravens will be cautious with Lamar Jackson, knowing it’s very difficult for an explosive runner to play through a hamstring injury without proper healing,” Fowler wrote for ESPN.com. “As one team source put it, ‘The type of player that he is and the amount of running that he does that he will probably want to feel really good before he returns.’”
Why Lamar Jackson Could Miss Multiple Weeks With Injury
Unsurprisingly, the schedule is a major consideration. The Ravens host the 1-3 Texans this week before a home game with the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7. That leads them into their bye week, and with that break lingering, it sounds like the Ravens might hold back Jackson until the end of October.
The sentiment I’m hearing out of Baltimore is the Ravens will see how Jackson responds during the week before making any sweeping determinations about his injury outlook,” Fowler added. ” … if Jackson isn’t at full strength over the next few weeks, perhaps Baltimore holds him out until Week 8.”
Fowler also noted that Jackson’s absence leads to pretty significant gameplan changes with Cooper Rush under center without Jackson and his generational mobility under center.
Doctors Weigh In on Lamar Jackson Injury
The only people who know for sure just how severe Jackson’s hamstring strain is are the team doctors and staff. However, there are a handful of doctors who have made names for themselves on social media by adding context from afar when there are injuries in sports, particularly the NFL.
Dr. David Chao, a former NFL team doctor, had a slightly optimistic read of the situation, saying shortly after the game that he believed it wasn’t a serious injury and the score was the biggest reason for pulling Jackson.
No one is saying Lamar Jackson asked out of the game, no one is saying Lamar Jackson wouldn’t have played through, no one is saying Lamar Jackson isn’t injured, all we’re saying is by video, and injury analysis and the situation, thankfully, hopefully, fingers crossed, don’t believe it’s severe,” he said on a video posted to X.
Meanwhile, Dr. Jesse Morse, a sports medicine physician, weighed in a couple of days later, saying the cautious approach probably makes most sense for all involved.
“I believe that he’s going to miss probably one to three weeks. Now, the Ravens had the luxury of a bye in Week 7,” he said in a video on X. ” … A two weeks plus the bye week would potentially fit here.”
The Ravens are in a real tough spot. They’re 1-3 and one of the NFL’s most disappointing teams so far, especially given legitimate preseason Super Bowl aspirations. If they managed to split the next two games and enter the bye with a 2-4 record, that’s salvageable for a post-bye Jackson return.
If they rush him back and he makes it worse, leading to a month or two absence, then it’s probably all over for Baltimore in 2025.