The Baltimore Ravens suffered a major setback to their season after Lamar Jackson went down with a significant injury to his throwing hand against the Buffalo Bills. The 2x NFL MVP underwent surgery to fix a fractured and dislocated thumb and has been placed on injured reserve. This leaves the Ravens with a difficult fight ahead.
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Despite the bad news, Jackson has not allowed the team to give up on their season. He has given the team a rallying call to keep fighting for January football.
As reported by NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, Jackson told his teammates, “Just stay alive.”
Jackson is expected to be out 6 to 9 weeks following his surgery, as reported by Ian Rapoport. If he makes a quick recovery, he could be back on the team by mid-to-late December. However, if he takes longer to recover, he will only be back for the regular season finale against divisional rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Baltimore knows all too well how frustrating it can be to see a good season slip away after losing their franchise QB.
In 2021, the Ravens sat atop the AFC with an 8-3 record before a season-ending 6-game slide unraveled their campaign. This slide compounded when Lamar Jackson suffered an ankle injury in Week 14.
A year later, an 8-4 start fell apart after Jackson suffered a knee sprain in Week 13. This is why past history weighs so heavily on Baltimore’s current situation.
When Jackson plays, Baltimore has a strong record of 83-38, scoring an average of 27.9 points per game. However, when he doesn’t play, they only win 37% of the time and score less than 20 points per game.
The timing of this injury couldn’t have been worse for the star playmaker. After recovering from an ankle injury that saw him miss three games, Jackson suffered an injury to his throwing hand during his first offensive play of the game. His throwing hand collided with Bills pass rusher Gregory Rousseau as he attempted to pass the ball, causing damage to his thumb joint.
Since Lamar Jackson isn’t playing, Baltimore has struggled offensively. They are currently 4-5 after losing their last four games. In those games, they have failed to score more than 14 points, the worst four-game scoring drought in franchise history.
The situation got even worse when their reliable backup QB Tyler Huntley suffered a serious turf toe injury and was placed on injured reserve for the rest of the season. They had no choice but to turn to undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano in Weeks 8 and 9. That left the offense shorthanded, culminating in a 33-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday Night Football.
In order to help steady the ship, they traded for 11-year NFL veteran Jacoby Brissett from Arizona. Baltimore sent a 2027 4th-round pick and a 2028 7th-round pick to Arizona in exchange for Brissett and a 2027 5th-round pick. Arizona restructured his contract to make it easier for Baltimore. $2.7 million of Brissett’s remaining $5.4 million base salary was converted into a signing bonus.
Fortunately for Baltimore, the schedule offers an immediate chance to rebound after losing to some tough teams. They now have four games against sub-.500 teams. They play the winless Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night, then they have games against Carolina, Houston, and Tampa Bay. As of now, Brissett has a clear opportunity to get some key wins.
The locker room has quickly welcomed Brissett to help lead the huddle. Star running back Derrick Henry said, “We need all hands on deck. I feel like [Brissett] can come in and help us. We’ll be excited to have him, and we’ll see where it goes.”
However, veteran tackle Ronnie Stanley noted that a new QB won’t solve all of their problems. Stanley cautioned, “He’s going to bring his experience and all the time he’s spent through the league. I think that’ll bode well for us. But there are a lot of things that we need to fix on our end. I don’t think anyone can just come in and fix all the problems.”
Now it remains to be seen if Jacoby Brissett can stabilize the offense over the next month to keep Baltimore’s playoff hopes alive until Lamar Jackson returns.