ExtremeRavens Posted Wednesday at 10:30 AM Posted Wednesday at 10:30 AM Lamar Jackson is finally, officially back. The Ravens quarterback and two-time NFL Most Valuable Player will start Thursday night against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium in what will be his first game in 33 days. It’s the longest such layoff of his eight-year career after he suffered a hamstring injury in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4 last month. Jackson, who spoke with reporters Tuesday for the first time since being out, said that he has never had a hamstring injury before, even dating to high school, and is “extremely excited” to be back. “Can’t wait to touch the grass with my guys,” he said. “Been a while.” Baltimore can’t wait, either. Though the Ravens (2-5) recorded their second win of the season Sunday against the Chicago Bears to end a four-game losing skid, they are just 5-12 in games in which Jackson has not played since he took over as the starting quarterback in 2018. That included six straight losses before backup Tyler Huntley helped lead Baltimore to the 30-16 victory last week. “It’s really true for every player, you really are happy no matter who the player is when they’re out there if they haven’t been out there,” coach John Harbaugh said Tuesday. “But it’s certainly true for your quarterback, certainly true for our quarterback. “He’s our guy. To have him out there is great, it’s exciting.” It’s also much needed with the once-Super Bowl favorites off to a 2-5 start and trailing the AFC North leading Pittsburgh Steelers by two games with 10 weeks remaining. That deficit has led players to take on a focus of every game being a must-win with almost no room for error the rest of the way. “I feel like y’all can see the excitement [of] everybody around,” tight end Isaiah Likely said. “Ya’ll are excited to see him out there, so I can only imagine what ya’ll think we think.” Asked how Jackson has looked in practice after such a long layoff, Likely said, “He look like Lamar.” Before going out in the third quarter of the Chiefs game, Jackson had completed a career-high 71.6% of his passes this season for 869 yards and what was, at the time, an NFL-leading 10 touchdown passes with just one interception. He also rushed for 166 yards and another score on 21 carries. Then came the injury, with Jackson limping off the field. He didn’t return to practice until last week, though was limited in his first two appearances before being listed as “full” on Friday’s injury report. That designation sparked an NFL investigation that remains ongoing because Jackson had only taken scout team reps on Friday and by rule still should have been listed as a limited participant. Jackson said that he didn’t know the exact play that he suffered the injury or whether it was an accumulation of blows, but that he had to be patient before returning. He said he felt a “tugging” early on in the rehabilitation process. He also intimated that the timing of his return ultimately came down to him. “It’s my body,” he said. “Only I know my body. “You don’t wanna rush a hamstring injury back and make it worse and now you’re out for the whole season. Hamstrings can be tricky.” Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson greets teammate Tyler Huntley during a Week 8 win over the Bears. Jackson will return from his hamstring injury Thursday against the Dolphins. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Even before the injury, though, there were questions and criticism from several players of what, through the first month of the season, was an inconsistent offense searching for an identity. Though some had pointed the finger at third-year offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Jackson said that he still has faith in the veteran assistant. “Start of the slow season everybody plays a part in their own way,” he said, adding, “can’t put that on one person.” The one person who makes Baltimore’s offense go more than any other, of course, though, is Jackson. Last season, he threw a career-high 41 touchdown passes and the Ravens became the first team to pass for at least 4,000 yards and rush for at least 3,000 in a season en route to rallying from two games back in the division with a month to play to capture the AFC North. The year before, he won his second league MVP Award and led Baltimore to the AFC championship game. Whether Jackson can salvage this season remains to be seen, but his presence has provided a boost on the field and in the locker room. “It’s great having him back,” safety Kyle Hamilton said. “[Cooper Rush and Huntley] both did a great job supplementing our offense while he was out, but he’s a two-time MVP. Anytime you get somebody like that back, it’s gonna be a big change so I’m excited for what we look as a team and our offense this weekend.” Hope has also sprung anew with players looking at last week’s victory after the bye as a 1-0 start to what is now effectively a 10-game season. “The mantra coming out of the bye was like, ‘New season, new us,’” Likely said. “It’s really just preaching, wiping the slate clean. Whatever happened in the past, let it stay in the past and let’s try to focus on [going] 1-0 every week from this point on.” That continues Thursday night in Miami Gardens, Florida, about 20 minutes south from where Jackson grew up in Pompano Beach. The game marks his first in South Florida since November 2021 when he had a forgettable performance in a 22-10 loss, also on a Thursday night, against a blitz-heavy Dolphins defense that had him under siege all evening. Jackson completed 26 of 43 passes for 238 yards and just one touchdown while also being held to 39 rushing yards on nine carries. This season, Miami (2-6) and its defense has struggled mightily, ranking 26th in points (26.9) and 23rd in yards per game (344.4). But there remains plenty of familiarity with Jackson through defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, who was Baltimore’s defensive line coach before leaving for Miami in February 2024. With Jackson back, though, optimism is high, both within the organization and for the quarterback. “I feel like we always got a chance to make something happen and we still do,” Jackson said. “We showed that Sunday.” Now they’ll see if they can do it again just a few days later. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article Quote
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