Lamar Jackson hasn’t spoken with the media in nearly four months, prompting everyone to turn to his social media channels for updates and potential clues regarding his future with the Ravens.
A day after revealing he requested a trade from Baltimore on March 2, the former NFL MVP logged into his verified Twitter account to address the left knee injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the 2022 season in early December and his absence from road games after he had traveled to Pittsburgh for the Week 14 win over the Steelers, the first full contest he missed after getting hurt. Jackson fired back at opinions that his late-season absence was driven more by his contract status than the sprained PCL he sustained early in the Dec. 4 win over Denver.
After missing the final five games of the regular season, Jackson announced on Twitter three days before the playoff loss in Cincinnati that he had suffered a Grade 2 sprain that bordered on being Grade 3 and was continuing to deal with inflammation and instability in his left knee, essentially ruling himself out against the Bengals. Of course, head coach John Harbaugh was noncommittal with injury updates as he usually is in the midst of a season, but multiple reports from national outlets painting a more optimistic return timetable didn’t help Jackson’s perception before he attempted to clear the air on Jan. 12, something he did without alerting the organization first.
Jackson wanted to “get real” on Tuesday night.
In addition to the conjecture about Jackson’s late-season health, many still have strong opinions about him not traveling for road games down the stretch, particularly the playoff loss to the Bengals. For what it’s worth, NFL Network sideline reporter Stacey Dales reported moments before that Week 14 kickoff in Cleveland that the Ravens “didn’t want to risk any swelling” by having Jackson travel, which was six days after the Pittsburgh game he had attended. Dales also noted in that same Dec. 17 pregame sideline report, that the Ravens “love where he’s at with his rehab,” even indicating the following weekend’s game against Atlanta on Christmas Eve was the realistic target for his return.
The swelling explanation — for at least that Cleveland tilt — fits with Jackson’s Tuesday night tweet explaining his absence from the playoff game.
Former Ravens teammate and ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III said the night after the season-ending loss to Cincinnati that Jackson didn’t travel for the playoff game because he was sick. However, Jackson was at the team facility the morning after that heartbreaking loss to the Bengals and was even spotted outside the locker room by reporters covering locker clean-out day.
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Does that clear everything up?
Regardless of the various opinions on this never-ending saga, hearing from Jackson himself — even if on Twitter or Instagram — is exponentially better than others attempting to speak for him or interpret his more cryptic social media posts. The superstar quarterback didn’t answer tweets from followers asking whether he would still be willing to play for Baltimore again despite his trade request, which is key in determining whether this was more of a negotiating tactic or a true sign that their working relationship isn’t salvageable.
We also got to see Jackson’s latest plug for The Entire Gym if you want to secure your preorder.
