Wednesday practices in the NFL are supposed to answer questions. In Baltimore, Wednesday mostly repeated one. As the Ravens began on-field preparations for Sunday's divisional game against the Cincinnati Bengals, there was still no resolution on quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was not present at the start of practice during the portion open to reporters, according to Ravens Wire, citing reporting by Jamison Hensley. Tyler Huntley and rookie Joe Fagnano warmed up in his place. For the third straight week, the most important player on the roster is a day-to-day story with no day circled at the end of it.
Jackson has not played since injuring his ankle against Tennessee on October 4. He missed the second half of that win and then the next two games, against Atlanta and Cleveland. Head coach Jesse Minter continues to describe him as day-to-day, per Ravens Wire, which is the league's most elastic phrase — it can mean a player is close, and it can mean a team simply does not want to say anything else yet. Our sports desk will keep reading the practice field instead, because the field has been more honest than the podium.
What Wednesday looked like
The scene Hensley described is now a familiar one in Baltimore. The starter absent for the open portion of practice, the backups warming up, and an organization preparing for a divisional game without knowing who its quarterback is. Huntley and Fagnano taking the early reps does not, by itself, rule Jackson out for Sunday — players do return midweek, and Thursday and Friday practices carry far more weight than Wednesday's opening stretch. But every day Jackson is not out there is a day the Ravens have to build two game plans, and two-game-plan weeks in a short divisional prep are how subtle mistakes get scheduled for Sunday afternoon.
The official injury report, and what Jackson does or does not do on Thursday and Friday, will decide whether he returns against Cincinnati or Huntley starts a third straight game. That is the honest state of play, and Ravens fans have earned the right to hear it stated plainly: as of Wednesday afternoon, nobody has told them who their quarterback is this weekend, because the team itself is still waiting to find out.
Life with Huntley, so far
Huntley is 1-1 as the starter in Jackson's absence, and the two games tell very different stories. The first was an overtime win at Atlanta, the kind of result that lets a locker room breathe and a coaching staff believe the bridge plan is working. The second was Sunday's 13-10 loss to Cleveland, in which Huntley went 19-of-31 for 165 yards and a touchdown while taking three sacks. Ten points, at this level, with this roster, is the sound of an offense playing not to break rather than playing to win.
None of that is an indictment of Huntley, who is being asked to imitate one of the most singular players in football. There is no backup plan for Lamar Jackson; there is only a different, smaller offense wearing the same uniforms. The Ravens know it, the Bengals know it, and Sunday's game plan on both sidelines will be written around whichever version of Baltimore shows up. That is why the ankle of one player has become the hinge of an entire divisional week.
What the Ravens are missing
It is worth remembering exactly what Jackson was doing before the injury, because the numbers explain the anxiety. Per Ravens Wire's accounting, Jackson entered the Tennessee game having completed 68 of 96 passes for 967 yards, 6 touchdowns and 1 interception, with a 119.6 passer rating and a remarkable 10.1 yards per attempt. He had added 144 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. That is not a quarterback having a nice month; that is a quarterback operating at the most efficient level of his career, in an offense built entirely around his gravity.
Remove that player and you do not lose a position — you lose the premise. Defenses stop holding their breath on every mesh point. Play-action stops lying to linebackers for free. Third-and-medium stops being a coin the Ravens flip with house money. Baltimore has survived two weeks of it, splitting the games, but survival is a much lower bar than the one this team set for itself in September, and a third week of it, against a division rival coming off its bye, is where the bill tends to arrive.
The rest of the report, and the Bengals
There was at least one encouraging line on Wednesday's report. Wide receiver Rashod Bateman, dealing with a shoulder injury, was a limited participant in practice, according to USA Today's fantasy player updates, citing BaltimoreRavens.com. Bateman was hurt in the last game, and being on the field in any capacity this early in the week suggests he may not miss time. For an offense that may again be led by its backup, keeping its starting receivers available is not a luxury; it is most of the plan.
Cincinnati, meanwhile, returns from its bye week for this game, rested and holding two weeks of preparation for exactly this matchup. A rested divisional rival, a home crowd waiting on a quarterback announcement that may not come until Friday, and a Ravens team that has scored 10 points in its most recent outing: the ingredients for an uncomfortable Sunday are all in the bowl. Jackson's week will be decided the way these weeks always are — Thursday's practice participation, Friday's report, and a coaching staff choosing between rushing back its franchise player and asking its backup for one more bridge game. Baltimore is still waiting. So is everybody else. For more from Wednesday, see Baker Mayfield's return to practice in Tampa Bay and tonight's five-game NBA slate on the Previously sports front.
