It's looking more and more likely that the Baltimore Ravens are going to have to navigate at least one game without superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson.
According to the Ravens' Thursday injury report, Jackson was once again a non-participant in practice because of his hamstring injury, which puts him on track to sit out in Week 5.
Adding to that bad news, Josina Anderson reports that not only is Jackson likely to sit this week, he is also expected to sit out next week. Anderson did leave the door slightly ajar for Jackson to play in Week 6, but that's based on how he heals.
"Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (hamstring) is not currently expected to play this Sunday vs the Texans, nor next week vs the Rams (outside of faster healing, which still can be deceptive)," Anderson reported.
"The bye week is after that. That’s a good safe window to help better ensure the hamstring issue doesn’t reappear later in the season when it counts more."
This tracks with a recent report from Brian Wacker of The Baltimore Sun, who wrote that Jackson could miss two to three weeks with his hamstring issue.
"Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is likely to miss Sunday’s game against the visiting Houston Texans with a hamstring injury, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Baltimore Sun on Tuesday," Wacker wrote. "Given the nature of the injury, he also could be out for up to 2-3 weeks, one of the sources said."
The good news for the Ravens is, they have a bye week after these next two games, so even if Jackson needs the full three weeks to get right, he'll only miss two contests.
With the bye in Week 7, the latest Jackson figures to be back is Week 8 against the Chicago Bears.
This is obviously a disaster for the Ravens, who are 1-3 and can ill-afford to lose Jackson for a play, let alone two games. Baltimore might already be cooked by the time Jackson gets back on the field.
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