Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has been ruled out for Sunday’s Week 5 game against the Texans due to a hamstring injury he sustained against the Chiefs. Jackson did not practice all week and was ultimately listed as out on Friday’s injury report. It’s the first time Jackson will miss a game due to injury since the 2023 season.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday that Jackson is “working” and “doing a great job,” but opted not to divulge any further details about his quarterback’s status on Friday before the injury report was released. Multiple reports have indicated that Jackson could miss several weeks, but the Ravens have declined to offer a timeline for their star quarterback’s return to the field.
In four starts this season, Jackson registered 869 yards passing and 10 touchdowns with one interception. He also has 166 yards rushing and a score. Now, Baltimore will turn to Cooper Rush at quarterback until Jackson’s ready to return. Rush played three series in the fourth quarter against the Chiefs. The 32-year-old Rush has a 9-5 record as a starter that includes a 4-1 record for the Cowboys during the 2022 season.
With Rush under center, the Ravens are 1.5-point home underdogs at FanDuel to the 1-3 Texans.
“He’s the consummate pro,” Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken recently said of Rush. “He was here the whole offseason. You can see why he’s been successful. Has played a lot of football in this league. You forget his record as a starter is outstanding. Everybody that you spoke to in Dallas, it was glowing. He went to the Saints; Kellen Moore loved him. He’s been as good as advertised.”
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There was discussion after the Week 4 loss that dropped the Ravens to 1-3 that Jackson could’ve returned in the fourth quarter against Kansas City, but the Ravens staff resisted the risk of further injury given the large deficit.
“There was no way he was going to go back in the game, the injury precluded it,” Harbaugh said this week. “During the game, you’re really just playing the next series as a coach, but there was no way he was going to go back in the game. The way I know Lamar, if he could’ve gone into the game, he would’ve … that’s how he is. I can assure you he would not have been able to go back in the game under any circumstance.”
In addition to Jackson, linebacker Roquan Smith, cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey (calf) and Chidobe Awuzie (hamstring), tackle Emery Jones Jr. and and fullback Patrick Ricard are all out for Sunday. Safety Kyle Hamilton (groin), linebacker Odafe Oweh (eye), tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle) and receiver Devontez Walker are listed as questionable.
This is a pivotal point of the campaign for the Ravens given their lackluster 1-3 start; they’ve failed to reach the playoffs in each of the two previous occasions when they started the season with three losses in their first four games.
“If Lamar Jackson does have a hamstring, which is what we reported [Sunday] on why he ended up not being able to finish the game, that makes me extremely concerned because I don’t know if this team defensively can just will them to victories,” CBS Sports analyst Tony Romo said Sunday on CBS Sports HQ. “The Chiefs have done that before, where you saw [Steve] Spagnuolo and this defense while they’re going through hiccups on offense just go ahead and figure out ways to win with [Patrick] Mahomes doing his job in the second half.
“You’re not going to have that quarterback if that’s the case, you can’t afford many more losses before you have to go on some crazy run,” Romo continued. “To me, this is a huge two- or three-week stretch. If I’m a Ravens fan, I’m concerned right now.”
