OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Scrambling to his left to escape pressure in the pocket, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson gathered himself and fired a pretty pass deep down the sideline to Mark Andrews during an 11-on-11 drill.
That the pass bounced off the tight end’s hands encapsulated the less-than-ideal start to training camp, but head coach John Harbaugh immediately went over to the 2019 NFL MVP and patted him on the chest for the impressive throw, also serving as a symbolic welcome back. The play was a reminder of the talent the Ravens have missed with Jackson testing positive for COVID-19 on the eve of the first full-squad practice on July 27. The 24-year-old had tested negative in the previous days, an indication that he hadn’t gotten the vaccine since fully vaccinated players are tested just once every 14 days.
Jackson returned to the field Saturday and didn’t show much rust, moving well and mostly throwing short passes during the two-hour practice despite being “hit pretty hard” in his second bout with the virus in eight months. The quarterback wasn’t made available to reporters after his first practice of camp, but Harbaugh said Jackson kept in touch with quarterbacks coach James Urban and conditioned “to the degree that he was able to” over the course of his absence from the team facility.
“I thought he looked really good. I would say he looked even better than I expected him to,” Harbaugh said. “Coming off 10 days away, he hadn’t started [practicing] yet. COVID is tough. He had symptoms. He had a lot of symptoms. It speaks to how well he took care of himself during that time. He came out and practiced well. It was a good first step.”
Jackson didn’t appear to take his usual share of reps as backup quarterbacks Trace McSorley and Tyler Huntley still took occasional snaps with the rest of the starters over the course of the practice, but the Ravens aren’t anticipating much difficulty getting their fourth-year quarterback up to speed after eight missed full-squad practices. Jackson’s status for next Saturday’s preseason opener against New Orleans remains unclear, however, with so little practice time under his belt this summer.
Even if Jackson doesn’t play against the Saints, Harbaugh said the Ravens “haven’t adjusted at all” and remain “right on schedule” with preparations for the 2021 season opener in Las Vegas on Sept. 13.
“I don’t think it’s going to be that hard for him,” Harbaugh said. “He’s already been through most of the offense. He already knows it and has played in games for a number of years. He’s been through this. There are some things that we’ve put in that we’re working on, but I think he’ll merge right in.”
