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Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson missed practice Wednesday, the fifth straight week he’ll be sidelined for at least one session before a game.
This one, though, is a bit different: Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said Jackson had a non-injury rest day.
The last four weeks, Jackson’s absences have been attributed to injuries.
An ankle injury limited Jackson last Wednesday, when a teammate apparently stepped on him, and he sat out Thursday’s practice. Jackson returned to practice Friday as a full participant. He explained that Wednesday was originally a planned “rest day” for him, but he practiced anyways and then got stepped on.
Jackson played every offensive snap in the Ravens’ 27-22 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, finishing 19-for-35 for 219 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and rushing seven times for 43 yards.
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The defeat added extra urgency to this Sunday’s rematch against the Cincinnati Bengals, who won in Baltimore in Week 13. The Ravens (6-7) need a win at Paycor Stadium to keep pace with the Steelers (7-6) in the AFC North.
Jackson, who was sidelined for about a month earlier this season with a hamstring injury, has also missed practices because of knee and toe injuries in recent weeks.
Asked Monday about the Ravens’ practice plans for Jackson, coach John Harbaugh said that “there’s no science to it.”
“You want to have everybody practicing every day,” he added. “That’s your goal as a coach, but it’s a long season. These guys go through a lot, Lamar as much as anybody. He has the ball in his hand every play. He is making plays. He’s doing what he does. He’s competing like crazy. So there are going to be times when he is just not going to be up for practice.
“It’s just not going to be the best way to go about doing it, and that’s a conversation between Lamar [and] the trainers. We’re involved in that to some degree, but what’s best for him to be ready to play his best on Sunday, that’s really what matters.”
Jackson has played in 10 of the team’s 13 games, and has the second-worst completion percentage of his career since becoming a starter in 2019. He’s completed 63.4% of his passes, which only beats his 2022 completion percentage of 62.3%. He also has his second-worst quarterback rating (60.0) in that same time span.
Last season, he had a quarterback rating of 74.8 and completed 66.7% of his passes.
The Ravens were also missing cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, who played his lowest snap count of the season (11) against the Steelers on Sunday.
The team was otherwise healthy at Wednesday’s practice with outside linebacker Tavius Robinson (foot) and safety Ar’Darius Washington (Achilles) participating in their second week of practice. While neither has been added to the active roster yet, Harbaugh said both could play against the Bengals.
“They practiced today, practiced well, so we’ll see what happens,” Harbaugh said.
The Banner Ravens reporter Giana Han contributed to this article.




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