Getty Marquise Brown runs during a game in Washington.
The Baltimore Ravens are starting to feel the effects of a gruling NFL season, and the banged up bodies are starting to pile up for the team.
This week, multiple Ravens starters were questionable heading into battle against the Cincinnati Bengals and multiple big names expect to play. As Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reported, not only will Lamar Jackson play, but big targets in receiver Marquise Brown and tight end Mark Andrews will play as well, in addition to offensive lineman Ronnie Stanley.
#Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (knee/illness) was 100% Friday and will start against the #Bengals, per John Harbaugh.
He’ll have help: WR Marquise Brown, TE Mark Andrews and LT Ronnie Stanley — all listed as questionable — are expected to play, sources tell me and @MikeGarafolo.
It was a tough week for the team’s injury report, as multiple starters piled up causing concern, but in these big cases, it seems that health will win out for Week 5 and the players will be playing.
The Ravens need to hold it together until they manage to score their Week 7 bye to perhaps get a lot healthier. For now, they’ll try to keep the winning going with this group helping to play a leading role.
Lamar Jackson Will Play vs. Bengals
According to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, Jackson was back at practice on Friday for the Ravens, and both his knee ailment and his illness were not serious enough to keep him out of Week 5 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
John Harbaugh says Lamar Jackson’s knee was “ready to go” yesterday but he got a stomach illness so they sent him home. He’s ready for Sunday vs. the #Bengals.
For the Ravens, this is excellent news. With Jackson missing practice early this week, there was major questions on whether or not he’d be able to go for the team. Even so, the trouble was described as very minor. Thankfully, that seems to have held true with the fact that Jackson figures to be a go for Week 5.
The Ravens need him, as their offense has run hot and cold so far this season for plenty of reasons not the least of which is the offensive line play.
Lamar Jackson’s Injury Updates
Jackson missed practice on Wednesday with a knee injury according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and while that might sound bad, apparently, the injury isn’t all that serious and the move to hold Jackson out and let Robert Griffin III take the majority of snaps was simply a precautionary move.
Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson did not practice today due to a knee injury that is not considered serious, per source. He was held out of practice for “precautionary reasons.” With Jackson out today, RG3 took the QB reps.
Jackson once again missed practice on Thursday, this time with an illness in addition to his other ailment.
The good news? It still sounds as if both issues are minor heading toward the weekend.
Presumably, the injury was picked up as Jackson was leading the Ravens over Washington this past weekend. This season, Jackson has put up 769 passing yards, 7 touchdowns and just 1 interception. He’s also been a dynamic force with his legs, rushing for 235 yards and 1 score on the ground.
Regardless of the severity, Jackson being dinged up is not a good sign. The Ravens will have to monitor this carefully given Jackson’s importance to the team in both the short and long term. So far this season, the Ravens are 3-1 and are in good shape to be in the mix to do big things in the second half of the season. They have to be careful with the amount of hits he takes, though, in order to keep him fresh.
This week, Jackson and the others will play and the hope is the Ravens can keep them healthy moving forward.
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