Raven Country

Ravens' Lamar Jackson Snaps Concerning Practice Participation Streak

The Baltimore Ravens are trending into the right direction on the health front ahead of a must-win game.
Jul 23, 2025; Owings Mills, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) warms up during training camp at Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images
Jul 23, 2025; Owings Mills, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) warms up during training camp at Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images | Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

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The Baltimore Ravens had perfect attendance on the first day of practice open to the media in nearly a month, since the week leading up to their Week 10 win over the Minnesota Vikings. This encouraging news couldn't have come at a better time, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming to town for a Week 14 AFC North showdown with first place in the division standings on the line.

By far the most positive development is that franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson was among them, which has not been the case at the start of the week of practice prior to those last three games. After the Vikings win, he missed a practice due to a knee, following a win over the Cleveland Browns, he missed a practice due to an ankle and after beating the New York Jets, he sat out a practice with a toe injury.

Ahead of their biggest and most pivotal game of the season to date, that is almost always a physical battle between heated rivals, the two-time league MVP is the healthiest he's been in four weeks since returning from the initial hamstring injury that caused him to miss three games from Week 5 - 8.

Despite dealing with a toe injury leading up to the Ravens' Week 14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in primetime on Thanksgiving, Jackson most closely resembled his usual dynamic and elusive self, even though his 27 rushing yards didn't reflect it. He was able to outrun defenders to the edge, present a threat in the quarterback run game and extend plays behind the line of scrimmage to throw the ball.

Coming off one of the worst performances of his career from a turnover and pure passing standpoint in the loss to the Bengals, Jackson is fiercely determined to rebound and get back to playing at the elite standard he has set and is accustomed to putting on tape.

Given that the team got a mini-bye as a result of playing on a short week, head coach John Harbaugh isn't sure how much the extra days of rest played a factor in Jackson breaking his first day of practice absence streak, but he's glad to have his quarterback feeling better than he has in recent weeks.

"It's good to have him out there doing what he did today and it's a plus," Harbaugh said.

No. 1 cornerback trending toward being available

 Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown (30) rushes the ball against Baltimore Ravens cornerback Nate Wiggins (2).
Nov 27, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown (30) rushes the ball against Baltimore Ravens cornerback Nate Wiggins (2) during the first half at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images | Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

Jackson wasn't the only welcomed sight on the practice field for the first session of the week, as second-year cornerback Nate Wiggins was also in attendance and taking part. The 2024 first-rounder has emerged as the best player at his position on the team and league at large through the first 13 weeks of the season.

Wiggins left last week's loss to the Bengals after a strong first half with a foot injury and did not return. After keeping Cincinnati out of the end zone through the first two quarters, including four red zone trips, the Ravens defense gave up back-to-back touchdown drives to open the second half.

Earlier in the week, Harbaugh told reporters that Wiggins’ status is "day-to-day," which cast a shroud of uncertainty over his availability against the Steelers. But after seeing him not only practice but look smooth and agile going through drills, he might end up missing no time at all.

Wiggins leads the Ravens with 9 pass breakups and 3 interceptions and can often be seen shadowing the opposing team's No. 1 wide receiver, which would be two-time Pro Bowler D.K. Metcalf this week against the Steelers.

While having him back for this game would be great, it's not a necessity as Pittsburgh's depth at receiver is shallow behind Metcalf, but next week, they hit the road to face a Bengals offense that will most likely have both Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins available, so it will be all hands on deck.

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Josh Reed
JOSH REED

Josh is a writer for Baltimore Ravens On SI focusing primarily on original content and reporting. He provides analysis, breakdowns, profiles, and reports on important news and transactions from and about the Ravens. His professional resume as a sports reporter includes covering local events, teams, and athletes in his hometown of Anchorage, Alaska for Anchorage Daily News. His coverage on the Ravens and other NFL teams has been featured on Heavy.com/sports, Maryland Sports Blog and most recently Baltimore Beatdown from 2021 until 2025.