Not having QB Lamar Jackson for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears is bad enough. But the Baltimore Ravens might feel even more negativity from its starting quarterback missing for another game despite week-long belief he would return for Week 8’s game. The NFL could bring the hammer down on the Ravens for misreporting Jackson’s health status and practice participation after noting him as a full participant during Friday’s practice.
That change Saturday. The Ravens changed course and announced Jackson was limited, not full, Friday and had been downgraded from questionable to out. It’s an incredibly rare move that has no recent precedent, especially regarding a notable position like quarterback and notable name like Jackson’s. A retroactive change in practice status. At most, teams will correct a report within a few hours of issuing it. It’s happened to Pittsburgh before and quickly fixed. Thursday, T.J. Watt was initially listed as limited due to rest. Minutes after, the Steelers updated their report to note a hip injury. One that will not hamper his availability for tonight’s game.
Per NFL injury reporting rules, the issue centers around Jackson’s role Friday. While he practiced in “full,” he worked on the scout team. Because those are reps he would not normally receive, that should’ve made him a “limited” participant.
“A player who participates in individual drills, but for medical reasons does not take his normal repetitions during the team portion of practice and is assigned to the scout team should be listed as “Limited Participation,” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero shared Saturday. “Participation on the scout team, no matter how extensive, by a player whose normal repetitions would be with the starters but for his medical condition, would not alter the player’s proper designation as “Limited Participation.”
The Ravens’ offered a brief explanation, noting the change in status occurred after consulting with the league office. Still, the NFL is looking into the matter and if the Ravens are found in violation of the rules, punishment could follow.
While the change might seem minor, these are matters the NFL takes seriously. Especially when it comes to starting quarterbacks. According to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, the Bears believed Jackson was set to play as late as Saturday morning. Long after the practice week ended and the game plan set into place. As Jones also notes, this situation playing out days after the NBA’s betting scandal will only increase the odds of league punishment. It’s doubtful Baltimore’s mislabeling was due to some smoke-filled room betting deal bound to be exposed. Instead, it’s likely either misunderstanding or ignorance of a quirky injury reporting rule. But the optics are just as poor.
What could the punishment be? A fine, probably. The NFL could take away a draft pick but that seems extreme. The league handed down heavy fines but no organizational penalties for the arguably more egregious act of the New York Giants’ mishandling of QB Jaxson Dart’s concussion where head coach Brian Daboll appeared to dress down a doctor/trainer for not getting Dart back into the game – along with other concussion procedure problems. Had the Ravens not listed Jackson as questionable and suddenly downgraded him to out today, perhaps the penalty would be stauncher.
But Jackson’s absence might not be felt during Sunday’s game. It could be felt later this week, month, or year, when the NFL concludes its investigation and adds salt into the wound of Jackson missing his third-straight game.
