‘My knee remains unstable’
Jackson addresses injury for first time in series of tweets
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson addressed his injured knee for the first time on Thursday in a series of tweets, writing that he’s been dealing with a Grade 2 injury in his PCL, a ligament in the knee, that is “borderline” Grade 3.
“There is still inflammation surrounding my knee and my knee remains unstable,” Jackson, who has not practiced or played in a game since he injured his left knee against the Denver Broncos on Dec. 4, wrote on Twitter. “I’m still in good spirits, as I continue with treatments on the road to recovery.”
The chances of Jackson suiting up Sunday night for the Ravens’ wild-card-round playoff matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals were already slim, but Jackson all but confirmed he would officially be out with the tweets.
“I wish I could be out there with my guys more than anything,” he posted, adding he’s “hopeful we still have a chance.”
The Ravens averaged 25 points in games in which Jackson was the team’s primary quarterback this season, but the offense has slowed in his absence, scoring half that many per game over the final six weeks of the regular season.
Tyler Huntley, Jackson’s backup, has been limited in practice the past two weeks with shoulder and wrist injuries. During the portion of practice open for media viewing, Huntley did not make throws Wednesday, but he did Thursday. If he’s healthy, he’ll be in line to start Sunday; if not, undrafted rookie Anthony Brown would make his second straight start against Cincinnati.
“[Huntley] looked good,” offensive coordinator Greg Roman said Thursday. “He’s progressing. It’s day to day.”
After Jackson hurt his knee during the first half in Week 13, coach John Harbaugh described the injury as “not a season-ending” type of knee injury.
“We’ll see if he can go back this week,” Harbaugh said on Dec. 4. “If not, it’ll be some time after that shortly.”
In the weeks since, fans have awaited and hoped for good news. When asked on Dec. 26 if Jackson would practice that week, Harbaugh said, “we’ll just have to see,” and then said, “really there are no updates” on Jan. 6.
“The truth is we just really don’t know,” Harbaugh said at the time. “I know everybody’s working as hard as they can. Lamar’s working as hard as he can, the trainers are working as hard as they can and [I] can’t wait for him to get back, obviously, just like everybody else.”
Surrounding Jackson’s injury status has been his contract situation.
Ravens safety Chuck Clark noted that it’s similar to 2018, when the Ravens faced the Chargers in the season’s penultimate game and then played them again, two weeks later, in the playoffs. He said the rivalry between the divisional foes has picked up in recent years and, when asked about animosity in the previous game, pointed toward the upcoming one.
“If they felt that way,” Clark said of the Bengals’ comments, “they [[inlinenote](the referees] should’ve called the flags. We play again on Sunday.”
Oftentimes when there is bad blood between teams, it can be weeks, months or even years before they face off again. Not in this case. Just days after a heated game, the teams will be back on the same turf with a spot in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs hanging in the balance.
Ravens inside linebacker Patrick Queen, like Clark, directed any animosity toward the next game.
“We’ll see Sunday night. If there’s smoke, there’s smoke. We’re not running from anybody. If you feel like people were doing things dirty — you weren’t at the same time?” Queen said. “If you win it, you can talk. You have the right to talk. But now is a new opportunity for us to go out there and handle business.”
Ravens defensive end Calais Campbell said after Sunday’s game that the intensity was a preview of the playoff matchup.
“The chippiness is just part of the game. That’s emotion. They want it just as bad as we do. We want it as bad as you can want it,” he said.
On one play Sunday afternoon, Bengals reserve lineman Jackson Carman blocked
Ravens outside linebacker Tyus Bowser into the Baltimore sideline, prompting a scrum. After other plays, Ravens and Bengals players had heated exchanges.
Ravens inside linebacker Roquan Smith, who on Tuesday signed a record five-year extension worth a reported $100 million, flipped a football at star Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase at one point on Sunday and then ran straight into him while celebrating a defensive stop.
“He did that on purpose,” Chase told Cincinnati reporters Wednesday. “It’s all right, we got something for that.”
When asked Wednesday about the game’s animosity and some of the Bengals’ comments, Smith just smiled.
“See you Sunday night,” he said.