Lamar Jackson injury status: Why is Ravens QB questionable for Week 3?
Lamar Jackson had the biggest win last Sunday, taking down Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in a Sunday night thriller.
But Jackson, who's under scrutiny this season because of his vaccination status, was held out of practice on Thursday with an illness, sparking some doubts about whether he had tested positive COVID-19 once again. It turns out it was just a precautionary measure because of a stomach bug.
#Ravens QB Lamar Jackson missed practice today with a non-COVID illness — a bit of stomach bug. He’ll be fine.
During the Ravens' win against the Chiefs on Sunday night, Jackson flipped into the end zone. During his press availability on Wednesday, he stated that his hip was sore after the flip.
It turns out there's nothing major to be concerned about Jackson's availability for Sunday. Even though he was held out of practice for precautionary measures, he should be fine for Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions.
Why is Lamar Jackson's vaccination status a point of concern?
Jackson was held out of practice with an illness and the first thing speculated on social media was his vaccine status. It turns out that's a pretty big deal.
Lamar is still unvaccinated, even though he has already contracted COVID-19 twice. Because of that, he's subject to the more arduous COVID-19 protocols for this season, including quarantine for high-risk close-contact, daily testing, masks on the sideline, and a lengthy quarantine period if he tests positive.
Jackson is the most important player on the Ravens' roster, so if he tests positive for COVID-19, he will likely miss at least two games, putting his team in an unfavorable position in the AFC North. If he's flagged for close contact, even if he tests negative, he still has to stay away from the facility, something that vaccinated players are not subject to.
The word 'illness' is scarier in the league this year than in other years, and when an unvaccinated player is held out of practice or games with an illness, there is always the fear that it's because of COVID-19. Thankfully, that was not the case with Lamar.
Using only his rushing stats through two games, Lamar Jackson would be the RB12 for the year, tied with Tony Pollard and ahead of…
Alvin Kamara
Jonathan Taylor
Najee Harris
Ezekiel Elliott
Antonio Gibson
Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Jackson is coming off the biggest win of his career and now that he has finally beaten Mahomes, his confidence should be sky-high. Having to sit out of the very next game would have been a shame for the quarterback.
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