OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Scheduled to talk with reporters for the first time since a vulgar postgame tweet drew some unflattering attention in the aftermath of the Jacksonville loss, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was instead getting treatment for a quad injury on Wednesday.
A team spokesman said Jackson left practice early to receive treatment before he was listed as a limited participant on the injury report. This marks the third straight week the two-time Pro Bowl selection and 2019 NFL MVP has been included on the injury report after he came down with a stomach bug two weeks ago and missed last Wednesday’s practice because of a hip issue.
His injury status was unknown until after John Harbaugh was finished speaking with reporters on Wednesday, but Jackson is expected to talk with media on Thursday or Friday when he’ll surely be asked about the tweet that was “so out of character for him” in the words of his head coach.
In more positive injury news, left tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle), safety Kyle Hamilton (knee), and tight end Isaiah Likely (ankle) returned to the practice field after sitting out in Week 12. Stanley only took part in the individual portion of the workout before exiting the field, but Hamilton was closer to full participation and told reporters after practice that he expects to play against Denver on Sunday. The rookie first-round pick out of Notre Dame had been playing his best football of the season before hurting his knee in the Nov. 20 win over Carolina.
“I don’t think there’s ever really good timing for an injury,” said Hamilton, who initially feared the worst as his knee “felt like it was on fire” after hurting it. “It always seems to come at the craziest times, but luckily, in my case, it was just a week. Hopefully, it’ll be 100% this week. I’m blessed to just be in the position that I’m in that I don’t have to nurse this injury for a year-plus, and I’m just glad to be back out there.”
Free safety Marcus Williams (wrist) continues to ramp up his activity level in practice as he was spotted catching passes during the portion of the workout open to media. Harbaugh didn’t officially rule out Williams playing against the Broncos, but his return is likely at least another week away.
The 26-year-old dislocated his left wrist in the Week 5 win over Cincinnati and remains on injured reserve after being designated to return to practice last Wednesday.
“He has kind of a plastic cast on his wrist. He has another week where he can’t do any kind of physical contact with it, but he can run,” Harbaugh said. “He was in various parts of the practice that he was allowed to be in, so it’s good to see him back out there.”
As expected, running back J.K. Dobbins was officially designated to return to practice from IR for his first on-field work since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in late October. His teammates are excited to see him back on the field for live-game action sooner than later.
“J.K. is so dynamic with him being able to stretch the field,” defensive end Calais Campbell said. “He can do so much with those jet sweeps or wide-zone sweeps and then cutting back and getting north and south. He really is really good in downhill. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. He can do it all.
“Getting him feeling good and going out there and helping us, I think that’s going to give us definitely a spark that we need to try to get back to playing some very dominant football.”
Cornerback Marlon Humphrey (ankle) headlined the list of players absent from Wednesday’s workout with tight end Nick Boyle and offensive linemen Patrick Mekari and Daniel Faalele also missing because of illness. Humphrey hurt his ankle midway through the fourth quarter of last Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars, but he was able to return to the game for the final defensive drive.
Meanwhile, the struggling Broncos continue to deal with multiple injuries at the wide receiver position with starters Jerry Jeudy (ankle) and KJ Hamler (hamstring) missing Wednesday’s practice. Both have missed multiple games with their ailments.
Below is Wednesday’s full injury report:
BALTIMORE
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: TE Nick Boyle (illness), DE Calais Campbell (rest), OT Daniel Faalele (illness), OLB Justin Houston (rest), CB Marlon Humphrey (ankle), OT Patrick Mekari (illness), CB Marcus Peters (rest)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION: S Kyle Hamilton (knee), QB Lamar Jackson (quad), TE Isaiah Likely (ankle), OT Ronnie Stanley (ankle)
DENVER
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: LB Dakota Allen (hamstring), FB/TE Andrew Beck (hamstring/illness), WR KJ Hamler (hamstring), DL Jonathan Harris (knee), S Kareem Jackson (rest), WR Jerry Jeudy (ankle), DE Dre’Mont Jones (illness), CB K’Waun Williams (wrist/elbow/knee)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION: G Dalton Risner (shoulder)
FULL PARTICIPATION: WR Kendall Hinton (foot), WR Jalen Virgil (hip)
