Baltimore spent Wednesday in a mild panic because Lamar Jackson was not on the practice field when reporters walked in. He showed up, practiced in a limited role with a back injury, and by Thursday was a full participant again.
Head coach Jesse Minter understood exactly what the city had been doing for 24 hours. “Hopefully, I can calm down the whole city of Baltimore and let you know that Lamar was at practice,” he said.
On the injury itself Minter was dismissive in the way coaches are when something is actually minor: Jackson is “just dealing with something small.” He is expected to play Sunday against Tennessee.
The Quarterback Is Playing Beautifully
Through three games Jackson has completed 69.7 percent of his throws for 745 yards with four touchdowns and one interception, good for a 113.1 passer rating at 9.8 yards per attempt. He has added 124 rushing yards and a score on 17 carries.
That is MVP-level production, and the market agrees. DraftKings had him third in the MVP race at +600 as of September 28, behind Josh Allen and Brock Purdy.
He earned that placement in Rio de Janeiro, where Baltimore beat Dallas 34-31 on a 56-yard field goal as time expired. Jackson threw for two scores, ran for 50 yards and hit a big throw over the middle with under five seconds left to set up the kick.
Now Look at Who Is Blocking for Him
This is the story Baltimore should actually be worried about, and it has nothing to do with a sore back.
Center Jovaughn Gwyn, who won the training camp battle for the job, fractured his fibula and is expected to miss two to three months, with surgery likely. Ethan Pocic, the other center on the roster, has a knee problem and did not practice Wednesday or Thursday. It is being described as long-term.
Danny Pinter is out for the season. First-round pick Vega Ioane has already been moved off right guard to center and took eight snaps in the Dallas win.
Left tackle Ronnie Stanley has been limited two days running with a toe injury that kept him out of the Brazil game entirely. Guard John Simpson is on the report with a groin issue.
That is a team without a healthy center, playing its backup plan at the position, with its franchise left tackle managing a foot problem.
Minter Is Managing It Honestly
On sitting Stanley in Brazil, Minter framed it as buying time rather than giving up a game: the rest gave Stanley “a better chance to not have to deal with the toe injury for a lengthy period.”
That is the correct approach in Week 3 and an impossible one to sustain through December. At some point Baltimore has to field five linemen who can hold up, and right now the depth chart does not obviously contain them.
Jackson’s own public comment this week was about the churn rather than his own health. “At the end of the day, this game is a next-man-up mentality,” he said.
One Genuine Piece of Good News
Zay Flowers returned to full practice Thursday for the first time since before Week 1, working back from a hamstring injury. He played only 21 snaps against Dallas and still caught five passes for 84 yards.
Minter said Flowers “is coming out of this thing really ready to push to be back in there closer to full time.” A healthy Flowers changes what this offense can do more than any lineman on the roster.
The Sunday Matchup Helps
Tennessee comes to Baltimore at 0-3, and the Titans just lost guards Fernando Carmona and Jackson Slater to injuries requiring surgery. Both teams are patching up the interior of their lines.
Baltimore is 2-1 with wins over Indianapolis and Dallas and a loss in New Orleans. The quarterback is healthy and playing like a top-three player in the sport. Whether that is enough depends on whether anybody can block for him in November.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
