Lamar Jackson Injury Update: Is Lamar Jackson Playing Today?
Well, if you’re a Ravens fan waking up today and frantically checking your phone for the latest Lamar Jackson news, let me save you a sprint to the group chat: Lamar Jackson is not playing tonight, and, thankfully, it’s not because of anything dramatic or disastrous. The latest snag for Baltimore’s MVP quarterback was a foot injury. Or, more specifically, his foot got stepped on in practice earlier this week. (Classic NFL — you dodge linebackers for years and then it’s somebody’s sneaker in a harmless drill that puts the entire Charm City on edge.)
On Twitter, @CaritaCParks shared an update on August 21 that Lamar Jackson missed practice after leaving early the day before, despite being labeled “fine.” She also mentioned Zay Flowers was out, Rashod Bateman returned, and a few others, including Mark Andrews, were missing. Meanwhile, Jaire Alexander was working on a side field.
When news first trickled out that Lamar left practice early, folks were on high alert. You’ve seen the pattern: Twitter blows up, fantasy teams explode, every sports desk in Baltimore does the “is this it?” mini-panic. Honestly, I had flashbacks to the 2022 meltdown when so many Ravens ended up on the injury report it looked like the cast list for a disaster movie.
So, what actually happened? On Wednesday, during a full-team drill, Jackson got stepped on and looked uncomfortable. He stayed in for a couple passes — no drama, just doing his thing — but then walked off to see the trainers. The Internet went from “maybe it’s fine?” to “what if it’s not?” Loud prayers, anxious memes, and a couple of those “cursed cleats” jokes appeared. Even Coach Harbaugh had to address it: “He got his foot stepped on. They did a quick X-ray, and there's no damage or anything like that. I was praying.” Yup, prayers do get answered, but also, X-rays help.
On Twitter, @koestreicher34 shared a post on August 22 quoting Adam Schefter about John Harbaugh’s injury update on Lamar Jackson. Schefter said it “sounded a little bit scarier than the Ravens led on,” noting that if it was truly nothing, Harbaugh wouldn’t have been praying for Jackson’s X-rays to come back okay.
By Thursday, Lamar sat out practice. People worried, but again: Minor soreness, not some epic doom event. His teammates noticed he was “flexing his wrist” before leaving — probably more just a sign of discomfort than a separate injury — but no ominous updates. The team’s message was consistent: it’s precautionary, not a crisis. I know, we’ve heard that before, but this time the mood around the facility wasn’t grim. It wasn’t even funereal; more like, “hey, let the guy rest, we need him in Week 1.”
As for tonight — the preseason finale against Washington — Jackson was already scheduled to sit, injury or no injury. It’s been a little joke for years in Baltimore that Lamar’s preseason appearances are as rare as crab cake discounts. Cooper Rush is taking the snaps instead. The regular season is around the corner and that’s where the real stakes lie. Frankly, if you’re a Ravens die-hard, you’re happy Jackson isn’t out there chasing down defensive backs for glorified scrimmage points.
Fans trying to find out when Lamar will actually be back, you can relax: unless something wild happens, he’s expected to be 100% for Week 1. The foot’s fine, the X-rays look good, and there’s a little soreness — so Harbaugh and company are giving him all the time he needs. This isn’t one of those NFL injury mysteries where half the league ends up “questionable” for four weeks. Jackson’s return to full activity is imminent, and unless fate has really got a twisted sense of humor, he’ll be starting for Baltimore when the season opens against Buffalo. I imagine the mood in the Jackson household is probably a lot like mine when my neighbor returns my mower in one piece: relief, gratitude, and a mental note to never risk what’s precious on a random Wednesday.
