The Baltimore Ravens are taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars in a "Thursday Night Football" game that could prove crucial for their chances of staying in the AFC North race.
The Ravens will have to navigate that game, and the foreseeable future, without the services of their starting quarterback, Lamar Jackson.
Jackson suffered a thumb injury that is expected to sideline him long-term. This marks the second time this season the veteran quarterback is facing a multi-game absence, after missing three games leading up to Baltimore's Week 8 game against the Buffalo Bills with an ankle injury.
Here's everything you need to know about Jackson's thumb injury and when he might return to the field.
What happened to Lamar Jackson?
Jackson suffered a thumb injury in the Ravens' Week 8 loss
to the Buffalo Bills.
The injury occurred on Jackson's first passing attempt of the game, when he hit his throwing hand on the arm of Bills pass rusher Gregory Rousseau. Jackson immediately reached for his hand in pain and was seen clutching it while running toward the sideline.
Jackson was quickly deemed out for the remainder of the game. He was later spotted wearing a cast on his injured hand after he returned to the field clad in street clothes during the second half of the contest.
Before the game against Buffalo, Jackson had missed the previous three games because of an ankle injury. He has appeared in five of the Ravens' eight games this season but has only finished three.
How long is Lamar Jackson out?
The Ravens have not provided a definitive timeline for Jackson's return, but coach Jesse Minter confirmed the star quarterback will be placed on IR because of his thumb injury.
"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."
Players placed on IR must miss a minimum of four games, per NFL rules. That would guarantee Jackson misses the Ravens' Weeks 9-12 games before becoming eligible to return for their Week 14 contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which comes after their Week 13 bye.
But Minter did acknowledge that Jackson's injury could "potentially" be season-ending. He also declined to provide updates about the quarterback's thumb when asked during a Monday, Nov. 2 news conference.
"I'm not going to get into the specifics of the injury," Minter told reporters.
Minter did reveal Jackson had not yet had surgery to repair his thumb malady and that the Ravens would likely have a more concrete update about his status "maybe sometime this week."
Is Lamar Jackson out for the season?
The Ravens have not yet clarified whether Jackson will be able to return during the 2026 NFL season. Minter simply said the injury was "potentially" season-ending but did not offer a concrete timeline for the veteran quarterback's return.
Who is the Ravens' starting QB?
Normally, veteran Tyler Huntley would take on that mantle in Jackson's absence. However, he is dealing with a turf toe injury and is expected to miss the rest of the season because of it.
That has left third-string quarterback Joe Fagnano to serve as the starter for "Thursday Night Football" in Week 9. The undrafted rookie 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.
Fagnano (6-3, 230 pounds) completed 10 of 21 passes for 91 yards and an interception in relief of Jackson and Huntley against the Bills.
That said, Fagnano isn't expected to be the Ravens' long-term starter. The team has agreed to acquire veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals, and Brissett will assume the starting mantle beginning in Week 10, if all goes well.
Brissett has previous experience working with Ravens quarterback coach Israel Woolfork during their time together with the Arizona Cardinals.
Ravens QB depth chart
Baltimore's quarterback depth chart remains in flux with Jackson and Huntley out and Brissett not yet officially acquired.
Brissett is expected to top the Ravens' quarterback depth chart once he officially joins the team, but below is a look at the pecking order within the group for Thursday's game.
- Joe Fagnano
- Austin Reed (practice squad)
- Kedon Slovis
Reed signed to the Ravens' practice squad on Monday, Nov. 2, just after Jackson and Huntley's injury. The 2024 undrafted free agent previously played for the Chicago Bears but has never appeared in NFL regular-season game. The Western Kentucky product 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, like Brissett, previously played for Woolfork in Arizona.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why isn't Lamar Jackson playing today? Injury update, return timeline for Ravens QB
