OWINGS MILLS, Md. — “Lamar Jackson Watch” officially began its second month Wednesday as the Ravens again practiced without their star quarterback.
The 2019 NFL MVP remains sidelined with a left knee injury as Baltimore prepares to face the first-place Cincinnati Bengals in Sunday’s 1 p.m. regular-season finale. Jackson hasn’t taken the field since sustaining a sprained PCL on the final play of the first quarter in the Dec. 4 win over Denver.
Despite multiple reports from reputable national outlets suggesting his return to practice was imminent even two or three weeks ago, the organization has remained vague on details regarding the injury and the timetable for Jackson’s return, but the clock is now ticking for the playoff-bound Ravens to get their two-time Pro Bowl quarterback back on the field and ramped up for the postseason. With Jackson having now missed a month of action, it’s fair to assume he would need to log some meaningful practice time in order to be ready to play, which is why many have viewed this week of preparation to be pivotal even if he doesn’t suit up against the Bengals in Week 18.
Head coach John Harbaugh declined to comment on Jackson’s status after Wednesday’s practice, but he was asked Monday whether he was concerned that his quarterback was running out of time to get ready for a playoff run. Backup Tyler Huntley has started each of the last four games in Jackson’s place with the Ravens going 2-2 over that stretch.
“I just can’t think about that. I’m just going to listen to the doctors and to Lamar, and we’re prepared,” Harbaugh said. “The offense is not going to change dramatically between Lamar and Tyler. … Whichever quarterback plays, that’s the quarterback that’s going to play, and we’ll expect them to play great football. As a coach, that’s really what you do.”
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As Jackson missed his 13th straight open practice on Wednesday, Huntley was listed as a limited participant due to right shoulder and wrist issues. The third-year quarterback has been managing shoulder soreness for a few weeks now.
In more positive news for the Ravens, cornerback Marcus Peters returned to practice on a limited basis for the first time since injuring his calf in the Week 15 loss at Cleveland. Defensive end Calais Campbell (knee) didn’t practice on Wednesday, but Harbaugh confirmed he would participate in Thursday’s workout.
Despite being inactive for last Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh, Campbell returned to practice on a limited basis last Friday and tested out his left knee during pregame warmups, a sign that he was nearly able to play against the Steelers. Like Peters, the 36-year-old was injured in the second half of the Dec. 17 loss to the Browns.
“I’ve progressed very well. I’m excited to go out there [Thursday] and see how it goes,” Campbell said. “I felt pretty good. Last week, I was close. I was very, very close. It’s a good sign. Obviously, you’ll take it one day at a time. It’s good to be back in the mix. It’s kind of hard watching football. I’d much rather play it.”
Right tackle Morgan Moses was not listed on the injury report despite exiting in the second half of Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh with a biceps injury. The veteran lineman was wearing a brace on his right arm during the portion of practice open to media.
Cincinnati conducted a walk-through and included only one player on its estimated injury report as defensive end Sam Hubbard was listed as limited with a calf injury. Hubbard sat out in Week 16 and was inactive for Monday’s game against Buffalo that was postponed in the first quarter after Bills safety Damar Hamlin tragically went into cardiac arrest and collapsed on the field.
As of Wednesday evening, it remained unclear whether the 10-6 Ravens still had a path to winning the AFC North championship against the 11-4 Bengals on Sunday with the NFL not yet deciding how to handle the postponed Cincinnati-Buffalo game. Baltimore would own a head-to-head tiebreaker with a win on Sunday to complete a season sweep, but the Bengals would still lead by a game in the loss column with their Week 17 contest still in limbo.
8“We would be excited to be playing for the division crown,” Harbaugh said. “That’s something that we’re hopeful for, but that’s really beyond us. Our job is to go win the game. Our job is to go win the football game. Really, to do that, we need to control the process, which is play the best football that we can.
“We think we’re capable of playing great football and we’ve been playing great football in a lot of ways in a lot of times, so we really want to try to put it all together.”
Below was Wednesday’s full injury report:
BALTIMORE
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: DE Calais Campbell (rest/knee), RB J.K. Dobbins (rest), OLB Justin Houston (rest), WR DeSean Jackson (illness), QB Lamar Jackson (knee), OT Ronnie Stanley (rest), G Kevin Zeitler (rest)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION: QB Tyler Huntley (right shoulder/wrist), CB Marcus Peters (calf), CB Kevon Seymour (finger)
FULL PARTICIPATION: TE Nick Boyle (illness)
CINCINNATI
LIMITED PARTICIPATION: DE Sam Hubbard (calf)
