Lamar Jackson’s storied career, glistening with accolades, records multiple MVPs and hundreds of millions of dollars, will forever be marred by his inability to remain healthy and advance his team into a Super Bowl. The 28-year-old’s career is far from over, but when he left Sunday night’s game against the New England Patriots with a back injury shortly before halftime, it was another damaging setback and consistent with his career as one of the most lethal dual-threat weapons in league history.
Jackson has missed games throughout his professional career due to injuries. He’s had at least five injuries of different types in his last five seasons in the NFL.
Lamar Jackson’s Already Missed Two Chance To Win Super Bowl Due To Injury
These injuries have caused him to miss crucial playoff games and impactful regular season games since he’s entered the league in 2018.
Concussion: In January of 2021 Jackson suffered a head cranial concussion on the last play of the third quarter during the divisional-round playoff game at Buffalo.
Back Lower Lumbar Sprain/Pull: Suffered back injury in September of 2021. Jackson managed to play with in Week 4 against the Broncos, despite not practicing that week.
Season-Ending Ankle Injury: December during 2021 NFL season after being hit by Cleveland Browns Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah during Week 14, forcing him to miss the final four games of the regular season. The Ravens struggled without him, finishing with an 8-9 record and failing to qualify for the postseason
PCL Sprain: Grade 2, Sustained in the 2022 NFL season in a Week 13 game against the Denver Broncos, leading to him missing the final six games, including the Wild Card matchup against Cincinnati.
Will Jackson Be Back This Season?
Head coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters after the game that the injury is “a bruise of some kind.”
“I don’t know how serious it will be,” Harbaugh said. “We’ll have to find out the next couple of days. He got kneed on the back [while] on the ground there.”
Lamar Jackson Suggests A Dirty Hit Led To His Back Injury
“It’s BS,” Jackson said about the back injury that forced him out of a crucial game against the New England Patriots. “I can’t control that. I’m on the ground, I’m down, I gave myself up, I got kneed in the back.”
Jackson’s playing style and his susceptibility to injury has always been a cloudy discussion that hovered over his head. Despite his obvious greatness and transcending performances, the threat of injury is always lingering in the minds of NFL fans.
This season was supposed to be the one where Jackson finally got over the hump and proved that his style could bring Baltimore a Lombardi Trophy. But it’s been rocky since their 15-point fourth quarter collapse in Week 1. The 11-point fourth quarter blown lead in Week 16 was even worse.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported on Dec. 22 that Jackson’s back bruise likely means he is day-to-day but he won’t have the luxury of any rest. It’s a short week for the Ravens, who will play a Saturday game in week 17 on December 27. It’s unclear if he’ll be ready for the Ravens’ Week 17 matchup with the Green Bay Packers.
As for the Ravens’ playoff hopes, they entered Week 16 in control of their own destiny and now Baltimore has just one unlikely path to the playoffs. Even if they win the final two games, the lowly Cleveland Browns — who are tanking for draft position — have to defeat the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17.
Ravens Fans Are Frustrated With Jackson’s Lack Of Availability
“Lamar’s time is over imo…. He doesn’t have it anymore. Which is typical after guys get paid like he did,” said one unforgiving fan.
“Qb’s that run are the death to them …We seen this movie before….,” another fan wrote on Twitter/X.
“He was barely hit there too. Lamar is turning into glass,” a third fan quipped.
Other Ravens fans agreed with Lamar that the hit was dirty.
“Did he knee him on purpose,” one netizen asked.
“Notice how Lamar was going down n he got hit going down n they still don’t call anything,” complained one fan who thought a penalty flag should have been thrown on the play.
“Drop a knee in your back, and you might need a minute….,” said one fan defending Jackson, who was seen walking the sidelines in street clothes for the remainder of the game.
Some fans agree with Jackson that the hit was intentional and unnecessary, others say that the injuries to Lamar are inevitable because he’s a “running quarterback” and historically – from RG3 to LJ8 – those quarterbacks have been more susceptible to injuries and a bigger risk for the teams that rely on them.
Lamar Jackson Signed NFL-Record $260M Deal In 2023: Still Hasn’t Been To Super Bowl
In 2023, after months of contentious negotiations Lamar Jackson signed a five-year/$260 million contract with $185 million guaranteed, making Jackson the highest-paid player in the NFL at the time ($52M per season). Jackson’s deal came just days after the Philadelphia Eagles and signal-caller Jalen Hurts came to terms on a whopping deal.
The Ravens organization never doubted Jackson’s ability or generational talents as a signal caller. However, they did express some concern about potential injuries and risks that his playing style presents. It was a definite point of discussion in the contract negotiations that many fans and analysts ignored, while demanding that the Ravens pull up a Brinks truck for Jackson. This is looking like a lost season and all it has done is pose more questions about the future of the quarterback whose mom negotiated his whopping deal.
