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On Friday, Lamar Jackson met with members of the CBS broadcast team ahead of the Ravens game Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, as all starting quarterbacks typically do.
A day later, less than 24 hours before Jackson could even gauge how his sprained left ankle felt in pregame warmups, the Ravens ruled him out.
CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson, who covered Sunday’s game and was in production meetings with the Ravens last week, tweeted shortly before kickoff that Jackson being ruled out “def[initely] came as a shock to the Ravens.” Play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz said during the telecast that Jackson had woken up Saturday with swelling in his ankle after Friday’s practice.
Coach Jesse Minter said Monday that Wolfson’s tweet had mischaracterized Jackson’s situation “a little bit,” though he didn’t elaborate. With Jackson sidelined for a third straight game, backup Tyler Huntley started in an eventual 35-13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals that dropped the Ravens to 4-3.
“We got a little bit of work in on Friday, come in Saturday and feel it [the ankle] out, see where it’s at and see how it’s going,” Minter said. “And then what happened, happened.”
Minter said Jackson is “working his butt off” to play Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, and he expected the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player to be in “a decent spot.” Jackson was limited in his return to practice last week and was listed as questionable for Sunday’s game. His availability for this week is unclear.
“If he’s able to play — that’s healthy enough to ... play the way that, obviously, we feel like he needs to play — then he will play,” Minter said.
Extra points
- Minter said the extent of rookie guard Vega Ioane’s knee injury is “still to be determined.” Ioane, who’s started every game this season while bouncing between center and right guard, left in the first quarter Sunday and was replaced by Emery Jones Jr. “We’re getting some things looked at today that I think we’ll know more [about] on Wednesday.”
- Minter acknowledged that the Ravens have needed better in-game leadership at points this season: “There’s moments in the game where it’s like, ‘Who’s the guy that’s going to grab everybody together and get them together on the sideline?’” Minter likened it to a feeling-out process on the team but said that “there’s moments where we need a little bit more.”
- The Ravens have signed veteran safety Rayshawn Jenkins to their practice squad, Minter said. Jaylinn Hawkins missed Sunday’s game with a knee injury, forcing Keondre Jackson and K’Von Wallace into bigger roles in the secondary. Jenkins, 32, has started 92 games in his NFL career, including one this year with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also has significant special teams experience.






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