Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson told teammates that he plans to return this season shortly after suffering a right thumb injury against the Buffalo Bills last Sunday, according to a report from ESPN’s Ian Rapoport.
Jackson encouraged his team to keep their playoff hopes alive until he comes back. His IR placement will sideline him until after Baltimore’s Week 13 bye; however, surgery on his throwing hand will likely sideline him for longer. Rapoport adds that Jackson is specifically dealing
with a fractured and dislocated thumb that typically has a six- to nine-week recovery timeline. If that is accurate, his earliest return would be in Week 15 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a game that will likely have significant playoff implications. Nine weeks would keep Jackson out until Week 18, the Ravens’ second matchup against the Steelers, by which time taking the field may not make sense.
Jackson’s potential return will only matter if recent trade acquisition Jacoby Brissett and Baltimore’s struggling defense can keep the team in the playoff race over the next month. They will face the winless Los Angeles Chargers in Week 10, who could be without starting quarterback Justin Herbert. After that are the Houston Texans and the Carolina Panthers, two of the NFL’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde teams this year, followed by the 3-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers post-bye. The Ravens probably need to win three of those games, to get to 7-6, to keep their playoff hopes alive. They would then need at least two, if not three wins over the Steelers (twice), Cleveland Browns, and Cincinnati Bengals to close the season.
It’s worth noting that Jackson recently called out Rapoport for an inaccurate report that he suffered a unique, neither high nor low ankle sprain. The two-time MVP said that head athletic trainer Adrian Dixon told him that it was, in fact, a high ankle sprain.
As of Saturday, Jackson had yet to undergo surgery, per Bleacher Report’s James Palmer. No matter how much optimism and determination he may have regarding his return, he will not know anything about his ability to grip a football for weeks. That will be the ultimate test of the rest of the Ravens’ 2026 season.
