It's silly to pretend that some otherworldly deity is determining the fates of your favorite sports teams, but what else am I supposed to believe when Lamar Jackson, who had been sidelined with a vaguely described ankle sprain for three games, finally makes it back on the field against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, only to immediately jam his thumb and leave after one play on offense? The Baltimore Ravens quarterback is most likely out for the rest of the season, as the injury to his throwing hand will require surgery and a trip to the IR.
Watching Jackson leave the game, which the Ravens lost 36-10 after also losing backup QB Tyler Huntley to injury, felt similar to when Aaron Rodgers, fresh from carrying the American flag onto the field as a New York Jet for the first time, was taken out for the season on his first drive. That moment marked the beginning of the end for Rodgers and the Jets, as they never captured the magic they hoped to create (Rodgers went 5-12 as the starter the following season). Will it be the same for Lamar Jackson?
I've been a fan of Jackson since 2016, when I watched him completely dismantle my school, Florida State, while he was at Louisville on his way to winning the Heisman. He's been one of the most exciting players in football for the past decade. Today, though, I can't help but return to the feeling I had in January 2025, when I watched Mark Andrews drop a pass for a two-point conversion in the divisional round of the playoffs against the Bills, a play which could've sent the game to overtime. In that moment, I felt in my bones that it was over for this version of the Ravens. Not necessarily for Jackson, who was playing his best ball at that point, but for the rest of the team.
The Ravens remained stagnant going into the following season, and paid for it with an 8-9 record and no playoff appearance. They have long been considered one of the better-run organizations in football, primarily because they know how to scout and find value in players who might have been overlooked elsewhere. None of that's really working out for them now, though. They haven't sported a dominant defense since Mike Macdonald was calling the plays three years ago, and the roster just keeps getting older and more expensive. Yes, they have Kyle Hamilton, Trey Hendrickson, and Nnamdi Madubuike, but the rest of the defense is pretty lacking. Roquan Smith's best days are likely behind him. Marlon Humphrey looks completely cooked.
The real problems are with the offensive line, which has deteriorated year after year. The group's best player and ostensible leader, Ronnie Stanley, is basically a statue now. Derrick Henry is still good, but he's like late-period LeBron: capable but not consistently dominant. Then there’s Jackson, whose struggles can no longer be dismissed. Though I have always found a lot of the media narratives about him to be weird and borderline racist, what can’t be ignored is that he has trouble staying healthy. Sunday’s thumb issue isn’t the concerning thing—that’s just a freak accident that happens in football sometimes—but the nagging injuries that tend to sap dynamic quarterbacks of their athletic ability are also piling up. I hate it when Jackson gets written off as nothing more than a regular-season performer—as though winning games in the regular season doesn’t matter—but it cannot be ignored that the playoff record is disappointing, primarily because there’s just not enough of one. He’s missed real playoff opportunities due to lingering injury.
This is exacerbated by the fact that Jackson doesn't have an agent to clarify what's going on with him during these spells on the injury report. In the absence of concrete information, people fill the gaps with rumor and innuendo: about whether he’s “serious” enough, about if he’s even all that injured, about if he secretly wants to be traded, about if he’s mad about his contract. Speaking of that contract, Jackson still hasn’t signed an extension, and while I think the organization loves the guy and wants to keep him, the conversation has changed since September. Can you trust a guy who can’t stay healthy for multiple seasons in a row with an even bigger contract?
If the Ravens and Jackson are going to stay together, everything else around him needs to be rebuilt. The team should just spend the rest of this year bottoming out and getting as much draft capital as they can. I don't have faith that the Ravens will do any of this, though. It’s obvious that they value roster cohesion, but it's time to ask if this group is really worth keeping together. Jackson has always been there to make up for any deficiencies Baltimore lacked on the field with his dynamism, but those days are firmly over. The remainder of this season will force Baltimore to reckon with a question often avoided by the front office: Is it time to reset?
