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While the Baltimore Ravens avoided disaster when franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson left their Week 13 matchup with the Denver Broncos in the first quarter and did not return with what was later diagnosed as a non-season-ending knee injury.
Head coach John Harbaugh told reporters in a press conference on Monday, December 5, that the former unanimous league MVP would be “week-to-week” with a knee sprain and didn’t completely rule him out for the team’s Week 14 AFC North showdown with their rival Pittsburgh Steelers.
Sources from ESPN’s Adam Schefter offered even more clarity on the extent of Jackson’s injury and how much time he could potentially miss on Tuesday, December 6, when it was reported that the two-time Pro Bowler suffered a sprained PCL and that could miss between 1-3 weeks.
In addition to potentially missing this upcoming week’s game with their archrivals, according to this reported time frame, Jackson could also be out for the Ravens’ Week 15 matchup with the Cleveland Browns on the road and Week 16 bout with the Atlanta Falcons at home. If he were to sit out the entire three weeks, he’d be slated to make his return to the lineup in time for the team’s second and final showdown with the Steelers this season in Week 17.
Thankfully, the Ravens have one of the best backup quarterbacks in the league in third-year pro Tyler Huntley and a favorable schedule over the next four weeks until they meet the Cincinnati Bengals in the regular season finale for what will likely be for the division crown. The 2020 undrafted free agent led the team to a 10-9 come-from-behind victory against the Broncos and got valuable experience filling in for Jackson last year that included making four starts.
His coaches and teammates have the utmost confidence in him and his abilities to hold down the fort, run the same offense, and even lead them to more victories for whatever amount of time Jackson might miss.
“Both guys play a similar game; we run the same basic offense with both players, so it’s not really going to change anything in terms of preparation I don’t think,” Harbaugh said. “He’s a player that has a lot of dynamics to his game; he can throw, he can run, he operates really well.”
Have the Ravens Failed Lamar Jackson in 2022?
Dating back to the turn of the century, the Ravens have long been one of the most well-respected teams and franchises who are consistently praised for their excellent talent evaluation, roster construction, salary cap management, and being a ‘first class’ organization.
The transition from long-time general manager Ozzie Newsome to his friend and protege, Eric DeCosta, appeared seamless for the first two seasons as the team finished with the best record in the league in 2019 and won their first playoff game since 2014 the following year in 2020.
However, over the past two seasons, their decision-making as a front office and coaching staff has come under heavy scrutiny in the national media as they have had their roster ravaged by injuries and have yet to ink their generational talent at quarterback to a long-term deal.
Jackson got off to a hot start to the season and was playing at a MVP level through the first three weeks. While he hasn’t been at his best, the glaring deficiencies on the still-banged-up roster have been painfully obvious over their last three games where they have a 2-1 record against middling teams with losing records. This prompted the panel of analysts on the set of ESPN’s ‘Get Up’ morning show to pose the question and discuss whether the team has “failed” Jackson this season.
Host Michael Greenberg prefaced his comments by acknowledging that Jackson hasn’t played to the same level or as consistently as some of the other top quarterbacks in the league this season as of late. He also said he thought the decision to trade 2021 leading receiver Marquise Hollywood Bown on the night of the first round of this year’s NFL Draft was a smart one. However, that’s where the praise stopped.
“They then drafted a safety and an offensive lineman, they didn’t draft a skill position player til the fourth round of the draft, they based their entire season on Rashod Bateman staying healthy,” Greenberg said. “I think this organization has failed around him far more than he has failed.”
First-round rookies Kyle Hamilton in his versatile defensive back role and Tyler Linderbaum as the day-one starting center have been integral to the team’s success this season and look like foundational pieces for years to come. Unfortunately, the gamble on hoping that Bateman would stay healthy all year without any further notable investment at the wide receiver position has clearly hurt them and made life difficult for the offense.
Former Ravens defensive back, Domonique Foxworth, who spent the last three years of his career with the team from 2009-2011 was one on the panel and offered his insight and couldn’t help but admit that his former employers have let down their star signal caller in one important area that is integral to success in today’s NFL.
“I think we all extend a level of respect to the Ravens’ organization because of the success that they’ve had frankly since their inception,” Foxworth said. “They’ve been well-run, patient, made good decisions and it makes me hesitant to be critical of them but when you lay out the roster around (Jackson), its hard to push back on that in a league where everyone needs a playmaking difference maker on the (perimeter).”
Bateman, like his quarterback, got off to a hot start to the season as well with eight receptions, 226 receiving yards, and a pair of long touchdowns through the first three weeks of the season.
Sadly, his successful second season would be short-lived after he suffered a foot sprain in Week 4 would decide to undergo season-ending Lisfranc foot surgery a few weeks later. He also missed the first five games of his rookie season in 2021 after being taken in the first round due to a groin injury he suffered in training camp that required surgery.
The last two wide receivers that the team selected in the first round were Brown in 2019 and Breshad Perriman in 2015. Like Bateman, both players were big-play threats in college but struggled with injuries at the start of their careers and are now on different teams.
Brown is currently on the Arizona Cardinals‘ injured reserve and Perriman is on his sixth team since being released by the Ravens in 2018 and is currently 10th on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in receiving yards according to Pro Football Reference with just eight receptions for 101 yards in nine games.
“They’ve never really had one healthy and consistent enough for a long enough time to take some pressure off Lamar,” Foxworth said.
The Ravens’ defense deserves their fair share of the blame for several of the team’s shortcomings this season in their four losses, especially in weeks 2 and 12. Even though they have a loaded group of tight ends, the lack of juice on the perimeter at wide receiver could ultimately prove to be detrimental to their hopes of making a deep run in the postseason or even making it there altogether for that matter.
They haven’t exactly been blowing out teams as of late and the Bengals are looking like the most dangerous team in the AFC, if not the entire league after winning six of their last seven games since losing to the Ravens in Week 5 with notable wins over a pair of division leaders in the Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs the past two weeks.
Ravens Reveal 2022 Walter Payton Man of the Year Nominee
The nominees for the annual prestigious award were announced for all 32 teams on Tuesday, December 6, and veteran safety Chuck Clark was named as the Ravens’ selection this year.
The tremendous honor recognizes an NFL player for having a profound impact both on the field and more importantly in their respective community or abroad through acts of service activities off the field and other forms of philanthropy.
In addition to being the unsung hero of the defense and a stabilizing force in the Ravens’ secondary, the 2017 sixth-round pick out of Virginia Tech has also been an advocate for youth sports and takes part in the Ravens All-Abilities PLAY 60 Clinic with Special Olympics Maryland. Clark was invited to The White House for its annual Easter Egg Roll in the spring of 2022 to promote health and wellness to children at the event.
Harbaugh and the rest of the team caught an unsuspecting yet grateful Clark off guard when they told him that he was the team’s nominee this year.
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