One play, then surgery
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson will have surgery to repair an injury to his right thumb and will be placed on injured reserve, coach Jesse Minter said after Sunday's 36-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Jackson was hurt on Baltimore's first offensive play. He did not return. Minter said he could not say whether the injury will end Jackson's season.
Injured reserve means at least four games on the sideline. For a quarterback who throws with that hand, the recovery is usually longer, and the team has not offered a timeline.
A season that keeps slipping
The injury lands on a team already under pressure. Jackson had missed three straight games with an ankle injury, and Baltimore went 1-2 without him while backup Tyler Huntley started. The Ravens are 4-4 and now face the rest of the schedule without their best player, in a division where every loss costs ground.
Jackson, 29, is in the fourth year of a five-year, $260m contract. Team owner Steve Bisciotti has said he wants Jackson to stay in Baltimore for his whole career, but the two sides have not held substantial talks on a new deal. Injuries have now interrupted two straight seasons. He missed four games last year with leg and back problems, and the Ravens finished 8-9 and out of the playoffs.
What Baltimore does next
Huntley knows the offence and has started games before, so the Ravens are unlikely to make a panic trade. Coaches will lean on the running game and ask the defence to carry more of the load. The schedule does not help: the next month includes games against teams with winning records.
Around the league, the injury reshapes the AFC playoff picture. A team that was expected to compete for a Super Bowl is now fighting for a wild card. Rivals that face Baltimore in the coming weeks see an easier matchup, and the odds on the division have already moved.
For Jackson, the immediate task is rehab. For the Ravens, the question is whether a season that began with high expectations can be rescued at all.