Jackson misses Thursday’s Ravens practice with non-COVID illness

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OWINGS MILLS, Md. — A day after playfully saying his hip was sore from his touchdown flip late in Sunday’s win over Kansas City, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson wasn’t at practice, sparking much speculation on social media.

It turned out Jackson was merely dealing with a bit of a stomach bug on Thursday, according to The Athletic. Baltimore officially listed his absence as being due to an illness three days before the Week 3 game at Detroit. It isn’t the first time the 24-year-old has missed practice with a stomach-related issue since becoming the Ravens’ starting quarterback midway through the 2018 season. In fact, Jackson missed a practice due to a stomach bug just days before his first career start.

As for his celebratory hip that drew plenty of attention — some of it criticism — during Sunday Night Football, Jackson didn’t rule out the possibility of doing it again when asked Wednesday.

“I don’t know; I’m kind of sore,” said Jackson as he smiled. “I didn’t want to tell coach [John Harbaugh] because coach probably would have said something to me about flipping next time, so I don’t know. I’d probably do it again though. It was pretty cool.”

In addition to Jackson, wide receiver Marquise Brown (ankle), safety DeShon Elliott (concussion), left tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle), and defensive end Derek Wolfe (back/hip) were absent from Thursday’s practice. Brown had been a limited participant on Wednesday, making his Friday practice status worth monitoring as he continues to nurse a sore left ankle that kept him out of two practices last week. Stanley and Wolfe are expected to miss Sunday’s game while Elliott would need to clear the concussion protocol, which is often difficult to do in less than a week’s time.

After sitting out Wednesday, nose tackle Brandon Williams (neck) and slot cornerback Tavon Young (knee) returned to practice on a limited basis. Cornerback Jimmy Smith (ankle) remained a limited participant.

With Elliott and Young joining a growing list of health concerns in the secondary, defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is taking the challenge in stride. Since the end of the preseason, the Ravens have lost three-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters to a season-ending torn ACL and young corner Chris Westry to a torn meniscus that landed him on injured reserve after Week 1. Smith has yet to play in a game since returning to practice early this month from a right ankle injury that sidelined him for much of training camp.

“I think every week you have those types of things,” Martindale said. “I’ll just keep going back to our system that we have different things in place, and there’s just different things that you can do. The challenge if you have a system like ours is not a great challenge. It’s just the execution of it is what you’re hoping to get come Sunday.”

On Thursday, the Lions placed wide receiver Tyrell Williams (concussion) on injured reserve. Detroit head coach Dan Campbell also confirmed the Lions’ plan to trade veteran inside linebacker Jamie Collins, who isn’t expected to play against the Ravens even if a deal isn’t reached by Sunday.

Detroit also placed kicker Austin Seibert on the reserve-COVID-19 list, meaning he’s out for Sunday.

Below is Thursday’s full injury report:

BALTIMORE
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: WR Marquise Brown (ankle), S DeShon Elliott (concussion), QB Lamar Jackson (illness), OT Ronnie Stanley (ankle), DE Derek Wolfe (back/hip)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION: OLB Daelin Hayes (knee), CB Jimmy Smith (ankle), DT Brandon Williams (neck), CB Tavon Young (knee)

DETROIT
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: ILB Jamie Collins (non-injury), OLB Trey Flowers (shoulder/knee)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION: DE Michael Brockers (shoulder), OLB Julian Okwara (neck), OLB Romeo Okwara (shoulder), WR Kalif Raymond (thigh), RB D’Andre Swift (groin)
FULL PARTICIPATION: DE Kevin Strong (concussion)

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