BACK FROM SICK LEAVE

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, ‘hit pretty hard’ by COVID infection, impresses in camp debut

By Jonas Shaffer

The most anticipated throw of Lamar Jackson’s training camp was his first, because it had taken him so long to get there, back to a point where he could wind up and be a Ravens quarterback again.

For 10 days, Jackson had waited until he could rejoin his team in Owings Mills. He had ended mandatory minicamp on such a high, roasting the Ravens defense with deep throws in mid-June, and entered training camp late last month on such a low, returning his second positive COVID-19 test in eight months.

Early Saturday morning, wearing his familiar No. 8 jersey, Jackson kept it simple. He set his feet, readied his hands, took a shotgun snap from center Bradley Bozeman, faked a handoff, reset his base, then lobbed a pass back, nice and easy. It was not the kind of throw that wins a Super Bowl. But early August is when you “build your foundation under your football team,” coach John Harbaugh had said Friday, and for the Ravens there was relief in having their most important player back. Better late than never.

“One step at a time, guys are working hard,” Harbaugh said after the team’s ninth practice of camp. “I’m very happy with how they’re working. [We] got a guy or two back, as you may have noticed.” He grinned at reporters with a knowing smile. “That was nice.”

Jackson did not speak to reporters afterward — he’s expected to be made available Monday — but his debut performance said as much about what he’s missed as