Two-time NFL MVP, Lamar Jackson, will have to wait at least another week before returning to the lineup as the Baltimore Ravens’ quarterback and was ruled out for the team’s Sunday contest versus the Chicago Bears.
That sentence, alone, would normally generate plenty of headlines because of the sheer star power of Jackson. However, the fact that Jackson practiced three times this week, with the Ravens and then retroactively changed his practice status on Saturday, could be the bigger takeaway from this situation.
Jackson injured his hamstring in Baltimore’s Week 4 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs and subsequently missed the Ravens’ next two games. After a Week 7 bye, there was hope that Jackson would be good to go in Week 8 versus Chicago, and him taking the practice field this past week indicated that.
The quarterback practiced on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, with Baltimore originally listing him as a full practice participant during Friday’s session. That was a sign that he would suit up on Sunday versus the Bears, but then, oddly, on Saturday, not only did the Ravens rule Jackson out for Week 8, but they also changed his Friday practice designation to Jackson being a “limited participant.”
While Jackson did fully participate in Friday’s practice, it was only with the scout team. Per the NFL’s injury report policy, a rostered player who only has scout team duty should be listed as a limited participant. That’s what Baltimore retroactively changed his status to on Saturday.
While this situation might have flown under the radar in any other week, it notably comes just days after a sports gambling scandal that has rocked the NBA. As part of that scandal, the sharing of non-public injury information that aided bettors has Hall of Fame player, and now Portland Trail Blazers coach, Chauncey Billups, under a federal indictment. In this case with Jackson, Baltimore not sharing injury information, originally, could have ramifications with the NFL.
Since 2018, Baltimore is 74-32 (.698) whenever Jackson starts, compared to 4-12 (.250) when he doesn’t. In 2025, Baltimore has averaged 32.8 points in Jackson’s four starts. In two games without him, the Ravens have averaged 6.5 points.
In his place, the team will turn to Tyler Huntley, who began the year on the team’s practice squad. Huntley was then elevated to the main roster for each of the last two games. And while he didn’t suit up in the first, he did see the field in the most recent. In a 17-3 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams, Huntley came on in relief of starter, Cooper Rush, to complete 10 of 15 passes for 68 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.
Huntley owns a 5–9 career record, with all 14 starts coming with the Ravens. He made the Pro Bowl at the end of the 2022 season, despite starting just four games that year.
Huntley is now Baltimore’s QB1 because Rush, who was signed as a free agent in the offseason after eight seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, was a big reason for the team averaging those 6.5 points without Jackson. Rush started the last two games but has zero touchdown passes versus four interceptions this season. His 48.8 passer rating is the worst in the NFL amongst the 40 quarterbacks who have started at least two games.
Jackson’s return will now happen, at the earliest, in Week 9 against the Miami Dolphins. It would be a homecoming for the quarterback, who is from South Florida, and it would be versus an opponent who he loves seeing on the other side of the field. Jackson has four career games with a perfect passer rating of 158.3, and two of them have come against the Dolphins.
With a 1-5 record entering the matchup with Chicago, the Ravens need to be historic to simply make the playoffs. That’s because since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, a 1-5 record is the worst start after six games for a team to make the playoffs. Just four squads have started off at 1–5 and qualified for the postseason, with the Ravens aiming to be the fifth.
