The Atlanta Falcons are on the verge of catching a huge break.
The Week 5 Sunday Night Football clash on their schedule with the Baltimore Ravens always looked like a tough one. The Ravens, of course, feature two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson.
But as Sunday approaches here in Week 5, things are looking worse for Baltimore.
Jackson has an injury, and his availability is in doubt.
Lamar Jackson Injury Update
Jackson hurt his ankle in the Ravens’ Week 4 win over the Tennessee Titans.
His injury kept him out the entire second half, and Baltimore has been a bit coy about what might come next for Jackson, as you’d expect them to be with their franchise QB.
The odd update came on Tuesday, via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The insider said that Jackson’s ankle sprain is “unconventional.”
Normally ankle sprains in the NFL are referred to as high-ankle sprains or low-ankle sprains.
Rapoport says that Jackson’s isn’t either of those.
That makes it tough to know whether Jackson’s ankle injury is even better or worse news than those more traditional types of sprains, but it probably isn’t a good sign if Jackson did something unusual in the process of injuring his ankle.
There was also a new update mid-day on Wednesday — Jackson wasn’t at Ravens practice in the portion of the practice that was open to the media.
With the game Sunday night, Jackson could still return to practice Thursday or Friday and have a chance to play — but any time without the starting quarterback during the week can prove costly, and the longer it goes on without Jackson, the less likely it is that he plays on Sunday night against the Falcons.
Ravens Backup QB
Jackson’s direct backup is Tyler Huntley, who some call “Snoop.”
Huntley finished the Week 4 win over the Titans with Jackson out of action, and he has ample starting experience in the NFL from various fill-in roles through the years.
The good news about Huntley for the Ravens is that he has a similar enough game to Jackson that they can run the same offense. It won’t drastically alter their install of the gameplan for the Week 5 matchup with the Falcons.
Behind Huntley, things get thin in a hurry. The Ravens’ QB3 is Joe Fagnano, an undrafted rookie who would be elevated to backup if Jackson is forced to miss the game on Sunday night.
The Ravens don’t get a break in their schedule after this week, either. They play on Sunday in Week 6, in Week 7 and in Week 8 before playing on Thursday in Week 9.
The Week 5 foes, the Falcons, won’t care much about what comes next for Baltimore. It’d just be a good deal if they got to play the Ravens with Jackson on the sideline rather than on the field.
Lamar Jackson Injury Update ‘Unconventional’ Before Falcons-Ravens on SNF