Ravens Expect to Have Lamar Jackson Back After Bye

The Baltimore Ravens are heading into their much-needed bye week licking their wounds and riding a deflating three-game losing streak after falling to the Los Angeles Rams 17-3 in Week 6. Their 1-5 start is the worst in franchise history and they are now 4-12 in games without franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson.

During his postgame press conference, head coach John Harbaugh provided a glimmer of hope for his team and fans everywhere when he announced that the two-time league MVP will be back coming out of the bye when they host the Chicago Bears in Week 8.

"We're going to have healthy players coming back. Our quarterback's going to be back, our middle linebacker will be back." pic.twitter.com/noXloeaSXm
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 12, 2025

"We're going to have healthy players coming back," Harbaugh said. "Our quarterback is going to be back. That's probably a big one."

Big doesn't begin accurately describe how monumental of a positive update the news he broke is for his team that has looked utterly lost and has been inept without him and a fan base that has been suffering from second-hand embarrassment for most of the season but especially since Jackson has been out.

During the star signal-caller's absence, the Ravens offense averaged just 6.5 points with underwhelming veteran backup Cooper Rush as the helm for seven quarters. They turned to his former Pro Bowl backup too little too late against the Rams but even he wasn't able to overcome and cover up the glaring deficiencies of what was a disjointed offensive unit even before he went down.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley (5) scrambles with the ball against the Los Angeles Rams in a Week 6 loss. — Oct 12, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley (5) scrambles with the ball against the Los Angeles Rams during the fourth quarter of the game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images | Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

Jackson isn't the only three-time All Pro who the Ravens have been sorely missing the past two weeks and is slated to make his return to the starting lineup coming out of the bye. Veteran linebacker Roquan Smith also left the Ravens Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs with a hamstring injury. Unlike last week, Harbaugh was proud of how the defense performed in his absence against one of the best offenses in the league.

"Our middle linebacker will be back," Harbaugh said. "I thought our defense played pretty darn well against a high-powered offense. It was good to see and we needed to see that."

If Smith does make his return coming out of the bye and doesn't suffer any setbacks in his recovery, it will mark his first time playing against his former team. He was originally selected No. 8 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Bears out of the University of Georgia before he was traded to the Ravens midway through the 2022 season.

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