OWINGS MILLS, Md. — For a third straight game, the Ravens have designated Lamar Jackson as questionable, this time for Sunday’s must-win clash with the Los Angeles Rams.
But his chances of playing have grown less convincing by the week with the star quarterback logging only a single limited practice for his only on-field work since injuring his right ankle in Cleveland three weeks ago. All signs point to backup Tyler Huntley starting Sunday after Jackson moved with a noticeable limp on Wednesday and sat out the final two practices of the week. This came after the 24-year-old didn’t even make the trip to Cincinnati last weekend despite a dire quarterback picture that forced Baltimore to re-sign Kenji Bahar to serve as the backup to emergency starter Josh Johnson.
Head coach John Harbaugh said the “medical” decision for Jackson to practice Wednesday “didn’t make him any worse” and the quarterback still had “a chance” to play in the penultimate game of the regular season despite looking nowhere close to 100% on Wednesday.
“We’ll have to see. This time of year, you have guys who have different things,” Harbaugh said. “He has what he has, and some other guys have their dings and things like that. It’s all hands on deck. The guys who are ready to play and can play will, and the guys who aren’t and can’t won’t.”
Huntley wasn’t listed on the injury report upon being activated from the reserve-COVID-19 list and practicing fully on Thursday and Friday, but the second-year quarterback acknowledged dealing with some “tough” symptoms after falling ill late last week and testing positive for the virus on Christmas.
While Baltimore is no longer dealing with a great number of virus-related absences like the previous two weeks, top cornerback Anthony Averett (ribs/chest) was ruled out and rookie outside linebacker Odafe Oweh (foot) is officially doubtful to play after missing the entire practice week. Averett exited in the first quarter of last Sunday’s loss to the Bengals while Oweh played a season-high 55 defensive snaps with Justin Houston on the COVID-19 list. Those absences certainly won’t help a struggling defense try to slow quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles offense on Sunday.
In addition to Jackson, the Ravens listed top wide receiver Marquise Brown (illness), Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard (knee), and Pro Bowl return specialist and wide receiver Devin Duvernay (ankle) as questionable. Brown’s status must be monitored over the weekend after sitting out Thursday and Friday, but Duvernay was a full participant by week’s end and Ricard was a limited participant on Thursday and Friday, improving their chances of returning to game action.
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With reserve offensive tackle Tyre Phillips (knee) placed on season-ending injured reserve on Thursday, the Ravens plan to promote offensive tackle David Sharpe from the practice squad, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Sharpe would serve as the swing tackle behind starters Alejandro Villanueva and Patrick Mekari.
Left guard Ben Powers (foot) will miss his third straight game with rookie Ben Cleveland again set to start in his place.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles officially listed running back Cam Akers as questionable, but head coach Sean McVay doesn’t expect him to play this week as he completes a remarkable comeback from a torn Achilles tendon sustained just days before the start of training camp in late July. Rams outside linebacker Leonard Floyd was added to the injury report as questionable due to an ankle issue.
Below is the final injury report for Week 17:
BALTIMORE
OUT: CB Anthony Averett (ribs/chest), G Ben Powers (foot)
DOUBTFUL: OLB Odafe Oweh (foot)
QUESTIONABLE: WR Marquise Brown (illness), WR Devin Duvernay (ankle), OLB Daelin Hayes (knee), QB Lamar Jackson (ankle), FB Patrick Ricard (knee)
LOS ANGELES
QUESTIONABLE: RB Cam Akers (Achilles tendon), OLB Leonard Floyd (ankle), DL Greg Gaines (hand), S Taylor Rapp (shoulder)
