Coy as Baltimore Ravens’ head coach John Harbaugh likes being with his injury report, he all but admitted to starting QB Tyler Huntley for Sunday night’s tilt against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Speaking to reporters following today’s practice, Harbaugh said it’s a safe bet Huntley will make another start in replace of the injured Lamar Jackson.
Here’s what he said via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley.
“It’s probably a fair assumption,” Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh didn’t make it official, referring reporters to wait for the Ravens’ final Friday injury report that will be issued within the next few hours. But Jackson failed to practice again on Friday, meaning he’s missed the whole week. With Baltimore locking up a playoff berth in their Week 16 win over the Atlanta Falcons, there’s virtually no chance the team pushes Jackson to play against the Steelers.
Huntley will make his fourth start of the season. While he’s taken care of the football and the Ravens are 3-1 since Jackson got hurt, Baltimore’s offense has tanked. Since Week 13, they’re averaging a league-worst 11.5 points per game and haven’t scored more than 17 in any game. That includes a 16-14 win over the Steelers in Week 14, a game in which the Ravens put up 215 yards on the ground. On the year, Huntley has thrown for just 528 yards across four games with one touchdown and two interceptions. He completed just eight passes for 88 yards in Week 14’s contest against the Steelers before leaving due to a head injury.
While the Ravens will be without their starting QB, they do appear to be getting back DE Calais Campbell. Injured in the team’s Week 15 loss to the Cleveland Browns, he missed Sunday’s win over Atlanta and after missing Wednesday and Thursday’s practice, reportedly returned Friday.
It’s still not certain if Campbell will play but his odds seem to be trending up heading into the weekend. Pittsburgh is healthier and only likely to be without backup safety Tre Norwood who suffered a hamstring injury in the first half against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Pittsburgh and Baltimore kickoff Sunday night on NBC.
UPDATE: Jackson has officially been ruled out.
