The Ravens got a much-needed win on Sunday. It capped a crazy 24 hours or so in which the Ravens found themselves embroiled in a controversy regarding the mischaracterization of quarterback Lamar Jackson’s practice participation on Friday.
The Ravens said he fully participated. They should have said he was limited, because he did not take reps with the first-string offense.
Coach John Harbaugh was asked about the situation after Sunday’s game.
“I’m not involved in those rules,” Harbaugh told reporters. “I don’t know those particular rules. That was probably — I think in their defense, you know, he practiced a full practice. I think they felt like, because he did the same number of reps, it was a full practice. But when you dig in and you read the rule, at the end of the day it wasn’t right. So that’s what it was. That’s why as soon as we found out, we changed it.”
Harbaugh then was asked the obvious follow-up: Who’s “they”?
“Yeah, that’s in the training room and the P.R. and the other side,” Harbaugh said. “That’s not in the football side. [It’s in the] medical side. But it’s an honest mistake. I mean, it really is an honest mistake. I can tell you this. Nobody’s trying to hide anything. I mean, there’s no advantage — there’s no advantage to be gained, you know, with that. I mean, it was — he practiced, his status was what it was. He was questionable.”
If Harbaugh isn’t involved with the injury designations, maybe he should be. Maybe every coach should be. Maybe every coach, given the new sensitivity to inside information and gambling, will be.
It remains to be seen whether the league regards the situation as an honest mistake (which is still a violation of the rules), or whether the league determines that it was part of an effort to conceal the fact that Jackson would not be starting, or (as it turned out) dressing.
Again, the entire situation (especially in light of the timing) will — or should — prompt every team to review its procedures when it comes to making and updating the injury report. Honest mistake or not, it was a mistake. And it happened with the starting quarterback, one of the highest-profile players in the league.
