Lamar Jackson suffered a back injury at the end of the first half of the Baltimore Ravens’ Week 16 game against the New England Patriots.
Jackson’s injury appeared to occur after he ran for three yards on a first-down carry after the two-minute warning, when the 28-year-old quarterback slid to the ground.
Jackson stayed in the game for the second-down play, a hand-off to backup running back Keaton Mitchell. However, the Ravens called a timeout following that play, and Jackson walked to the sideline to be examined by Baltimore’s medical staff.
Jackson was examined briefly on the sideline before being taken to the locker room. He was eventually ruled out of the game because of a back injury.
Here’s what to know about Jackson’s injury.
Lamar Jackson injury update
The Ravens officially ruled Jackson out for the remainder of Sunday’s game because of a back injury. Harbaugh provided an update on the malady – which he referred to as ‘a bruise of some kind’ – during his postgame news conference.
‘I don’t know how serious it will be,’ Harbaugh told reporters. ‘We’ll have to find out the next couple of days. He got kneed on the back [while] on the ground there.’
Harbaugh also clarified that sitting Jackson was not a precautionary move. He simply couldn’t play because of the injury.
‘If he could’ve gone, he would’ve gone,’ Harbaugh said, referencing Jackson’s availability.
Harbaugh had initially been asked about Jackson’s status during a halftime interview with NBC Sports’ Melissa Stark. The Ravens coach did not rule the quarterback out at that time, instead telling her the team was working on Jackson’s injured back.
‘They’re working on him right now, stretching,’ Harbaugh said. ‘We’ll see how he feels coming out.’
Jackson remained sidelined on the Ravens’ first offensive drive of the second half before being ruled out in advance of the fourth quarter.
Baltimore had originally deemed Jackson ‘questionable’ to return because of his back injury. Stark reported Jackson was ‘grimacing in pain’ and had trouble traversing the stairs while heading to the locker room after suffering the injury.
Who is the Ravens backup QB?
Tyler Huntley is the Ravens’ backup quarterback. The 27-year-old veteran is in his third stint with the team and was elevated into the backup role after Cooper Rush struggled in place of Jackson earlier in the season.
Huntley won his lone start for the team this season and has completed 73% of his passes for 254 yards and a touchdown. He has a career record of 6-9 in 15 starts and has completed 65.2% of his career passes for 3,040 yards, 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Ravens QB depth chart
The Ravens have three quarterbacks available for Sunday’s game. They are as follows:
- Lamar Jackson
- Tyler Huntley
- Cooper Rush
Rush is the team’s emergency third quarterback for Sunday’s game and will only enter if Jackson and Huntley suffer game-ending injuries.
Rush spent almost all of his career with the Dallas Cowboys before joining the Ravens this season. The 32-year-old went 0-2 in two starts in place of Jackson earlier in the season and has completed 65.4% of his passes for 303 yards and four interceptions.
(This story will be updated as more information becomes available.)