Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson practiced in full Friday but has a questionable status for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears at M&T Bank Stadium.
Jackson strained his right hamstring in Baltimore’s Sept. 28 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Ravens are 0-2 this season without Jackson and 1-5 overall. They’ve scored just 13 points in two games this season without him on the field.
If they can’t beat the Bears Sunday, the Ravens’ already sliding playoff hopes will be all but gone. Only one team in the modern era has made the playoffs after starting 1-6, and that was the 1970 Cincinnati Bengals.
Jackson, the two-time NFL MVP, returned to practice this week but did so on a limited basis until Friday. At least in the parts of practice open to the media, Jackson mostly took secondary reps behind fellow quarterbacks Cooper Rush and Tyler Huntley.
If Jackson is sidelined, Ravens coach John Harbaugh announced that Huntley will get the starting nod against a Bears team that has won four consecutive games. Rush struggled mightily in his two starts, completing just over 64 percent of his passing attempts and throwing zero touchdowns and four interceptions. He was also charged with a fumble, although wide receiver Zay Flowers took responsibility for the botched exchange.
Rush, the former Dallas Cowboy whom the Ravens signed this offseason because they believed he could lead the team to a few wins if Jackson were forced to miss some time, was pulled in the fourth quarter of the Ravens’ 17-3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Oct. 12.
Saying later that the plan all along was to play both of his healthy quarterbacks, Harbaugh watched Huntley give the offense a little spark, but it extinguished quickly. He went 10-for-15 passing in the game for 68 yards, but he was sacked four times in 25 offensive snaps. Huntley also rushed for 39 yards.
Huntley, a former high school rival of Jackson’s, has made 14 career starts over six NFL seasons. He started five games for the Miami Dolphins last year and led them to victories in two games. He has beaten the Bears before. Starting in place of Jackson when he was sick in Week 11 of the 2021 season, Huntley completed 26 of 36 pass attempts for 219 yards and rushed for 40 yards in the Ravens’ 16-13 win over Chicago.
The Ravens are 4-12 with Jackson sidelined since he became the team’s starter in 2018. If he’s unable to go, Jackson will have a few more days to recover and prepare for a matchup against the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.