Jackson sits out Wednesday’s Ravens practice with back issue

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Not long after expressing excitement about getting to practice with returning first-round wide receiver Rashod Bateman, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson wasn’t on the field for Wednesday’s workout.

Jackson sat out with what was listed as a back issue, but he appeared to be fine when speaking to reporters less than two hours earlier. According to The Athletic, the Ravens elected to hold their star player out of practice due to “general soreness” after Jackson took some big hits over the course of the Week 3 win at Detroit. Jackson missed last Thursday’s practice due to a stomach bug, but he practiced fully the following day and played in the game without any apparent issue.

Though his conventional passing statistics look underwhelming with three touchdown passes, three interceptions, a 60.9% completion percentage, and an 86.4 passer rating through three games, Jackson is coming off a strong passing performance in Week 3 that was stunted by multiple drops by wide receiver Marquise Brown. In addition to leading the NFL at 7.2 yards per carry and ranking fourth in rushing yards, Jackson is leading the league at 14.4 yards per completion and is a rock-solid eighth at 8.7 yards per passing attempt, signs that he’s being more aggressive in the intermediate-to-deep passing game.

“We’ve been working on pushing the ball downfield. That was a huge emphasis [for] us coming in,” Jackson said. “Coach was telling us, ‘If we get a few during the game, it’ll help us throughout the game,’ and that’s what we’ve been trying to do. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t. Hopefully, we’ll be hitting a lot more throughout the season.”

Jackson was one of eight players on the 53-man roster to sit out Wednesday’s workout with safety DeShon Elliott (quadriceps), outside linebacker Pernell McPhee (shoulder), offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva (knee), and cornerback Tavon Young (knee) among the others absent. Elliott is believed to be the biggest question mark of that group for Sunday’s game in Denver after exiting the Lions game in the second half.

John Harbaugh still had no timetable when asked about the return of defensive end Derek Wolfe (back/hip), who is expected to miss his fourth straight game and hasn’t practiced since Aug. 23. The Ravens head coach said there was no new update on the status of left tackle Ronnie Stanley, but an NFL Network report soon thereafter indicated the 2019 Pro Bowl selection will continue to rehab his surgically-repaired left ankle in hopes of returning sooner than later with no plans for another surgery at this time. Stanley, 27, still appears unlikely to play against the Broncos on Sunday, which would be his third consecutive missed game.

As expected, Bateman (groin) and fellow wide receiver Miles Boykin (hamstring) participated in Wednesday’s practice after being designated for return from injured reserve, but they didn’t appear on the injury report since they aren’t on the 53-man roster. Both have up to 21 days to practice before the Ravens must reinstate them to the active roster or leave them on IR for the remainder of the season.

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“Great route runner, strong hands. He has speed too — sneaky speed,” said Jackson about his early impressions of Bateman from the spring and early summer. “That’s it right now. But I feel he’s going to be ready. He’s going to be hungry and ready when his time comes.”

Meanwhile, the Broncos are dealing with their own assortment of injuries after placing the likes of outside linebacker Bradley Chubb, cornerback Ronald Darby, and wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler on IR in recent weeks. Denver was without starting guards Dalton Risner (ankle) and Graham Glasgow (knee) for Wednesday’s practice with both questionable to play against the Ravens, according to Broncos head coach Vic Fangio.

Below is Wednesday’s full injury report:

BALTIMORE
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: S DeShon Elliott (quad), QB Lamar Jackson (back), OLB Pernell McPhee (shoulder), OT Ronnie Stanley (ankle), OT Alejandro Villanueva (knee) WR Sammy Watkins (non-injury), DE Derek Wolfe (back/hip), CB Tavon Young (knee)

DENVER
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: G Graham Glasgow (knee), G Dalton Risner (ankle)
LIMITED: RB Melvin Gordon (ribs), OLB Andre Mintze (hamstring), DL Mike Purcell (knee)
FULL: DE Shelby Harris (wrist), OLB Malik Reed (ankle/thumb), ILB Justin Strnad (hand)