The Baltimore Ravens lost starting quarterback Lamar Jackson to a significant thumb injury just one snap into his return from a three-game absence related to an ankle injury.
Jackson was injured in the Ravens' Week 8 game against the Buffalo Bills. He began to attempt his first pass and hit his hand on a Bills defender who was pressuring him off the right side of the offensive line.
Jackson immediately appeared to be in pain and exited the field holding his right hand. He received medical attention on the sideline before being taken to the locker room and quickly ruled out because of the injury. He later returned to the sideline in street clothes, sporting a cast on his injured throwing hand.
Jackson is now staring down another lengthy absence,
and the Ravens will have to scramble to replace their star quarterback as they try to remain competitive in the AFC playoff race.
Will Jackson's absence last the remainder of the season? Here's what to know about his status moving forward.
Is Lamar Jackson out for the season?
The Ravens have not officially ruled Jackson out for the remainder of the season. However, coach Jesse Minter did acknowledge the veteran quarterback's thumb injury could "potentially" be season-ending and would land him on IR, at the very least.
"That'll be a surgery deal," Minter said when discussing Jackson's injury during a postgame news conference on Sunday, Nov. 1. "He'll go to IR. That's a tough deal."
Minter was asked again for an update about Jackson's status at a Monday, Nov. 2, media availability. He told reporters the 29-year-old had not yet had surgery and that the team would have more information about his status "maybe sometime this week."
Minter did not share any additional information about Jackson's thumb injury.
"I'm not going to get into the specifics of the injury," Minter told reporters.
How long is Lamar Jackson out?
While Jackson's exact timeline for return remains murky, he will have to miss at least four games once he is placed on IR.
That means the earliest Jackson could potentially return to the field would be in Week 14 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He is guaranteed to miss the Ravens' Weeks 9-12 contests and the team will have a bye in Week 13.
That said, the Ravens will likely have a more definitive timeline for Jackson's return after he has surgery; and it seems possible – if not probable – the two-time MVP will have to miss more than the requisite four games required by an IR stint.
Who will replace Lamar Jackson?
For now, that question remains unsettled. Jackson's normal backup, Tyler Huntley, suffered a turf toe injury while playing in relief of him against the Bills. Huntley seems unlikely to play on "Thursday Night Football" in Week 9, which would push undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano into the starting role.
However, Fagnano is dealing with an ankle injury of his own suffered against the Bills. Minter acknowledged the 25-year-old may "have a chance to play" against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but wouldn't commit to him making the start.
"I think we'll figure that out over the next day or two," Minter said.
The Ravens added two quarterbacks to their organization ahead of their Thursday night game. Initially, they signed Austin Reed, who spent time with the team during the preseason, to their practice squad on Monday. The following day, they poached Kedon Slovis from the Green Bay Packers' squad, guaranteeing the team will have at least two fully healthy quarterbacks available for their Week 9 game.
Ravens QB depth chart
Below is a look at the current state of the Ravens' quarterback depth chart
- Lamar Jackson (injured)
- Tyler Huntley (injured)
- Joe Fagnano
- Austin Reed (practice squad)
- Kedon Slovis
Fagnano completed 10 of 21 passes for 91 yards and an interception in relief of Jackson and Huntley against the Bills. The 6-3, 230-pound signal-caller spent the final three seasons of his college career at UConn and completed 68% of his passes for 3,448 yards, 28 touchdowns and one interception during his sixth and final college season.
Like Fagnano, Reed was an undrafted free agent who joined the Chicago Bears in 2024. The Western Kentucky product has not yet appeared in an NFL regular-season game, but he thrived for the Dallas Renegades during the 2026 UFL season, completing 56.3% of his passes for 1,923 yards, a league-high 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Slovis is another player who went undrafted in 2024. The USC, Pitt and BYU product spent time with four NFL teams before joining the Ravens from the Packers' practice squad. He dressed for two games with the Arizona Cardinals last season and completed 1 of 2 passes for negative-2 yards.
Because Slovis was on the Packers' practice squad, the Ravens needed to sign him to their 53-man roster to obtain him ahead of Thursday's game. That said, the 25-year-old will likely remain behind Reed given that the latter spent time with Baltimore during the preseason – though Slovis previously played for Ravens quarterback coach Israel Woolfork in Arizona.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Lamar Jackson out for the season? Latest injury update on Ravens QB
