Critical Week for Lamar Jackson and Ravens

Coach John Harbaugh was non-committal about Lamar Jackson's status for the upcoming playoff game.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — All eyes will be on the Under Armour Performance Center this week to see whether Lamar Jackson returns to practice.

Baltimore is gearing up for the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Wild Card Weekend of the playoffs. 

Coach John Harbaugh was non-committal about Jackson's status for the game. 

“Like I’ve been saying, I don’t really have an update right now to share with you," Harbaugh said. "We’ll have our injury report out on Wednesday because I won’t have a chance to talk to you between now and then. That’s kind of where we’re at.”

There was some bad blood between the @Ravens and Bengals in the regular-season finale that could carry over to their playoff matchup. #RavensFlockhttps://t.co/iHaphzQZbm

— Todd Karpovich (@toddkarpovich) January 9, 2023

The Ravens have lost three of their last four games without Jackson in the lineup. They also lost to Cincinnati 27-16 in the regular-season finalRookie third-string quarterback Anthony Brown threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the end zone that all led to touchdowns.

Jackson would change the entire dynamic of the playoff game.  

“Lamar has been in great spirits; he has been," Harbaugh said. "He’s been working super hard. He’s out there again today; I don’t watch the workouts with the trainers – it's with the trainers. Hopefully, it’s progressing to the point where he can get to practice at some time soon. That’s really what we’re all hoping for, for sure. When we have something to report on that, we will, honestly. 

"That’s just the truth of it, but he’s been great. He’s always in good spirits. He wants to play; there’s no doubt. That’s my feeling. You know I love Lamar; I love Lamar. I love everything about Lamar – always have, always will. So, he’s working hard, [and] he’s been in good spirits.”