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Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has had six injury designations this year, and the last might be the most misleading.
Jackson suffered a hamstring injury in Week 4 that sidelined him for over a month. Understandable.
Then came minor knee, ankle and toe injuries that have limited him in practices and games. Not unexpected.
He missed a practice last week with an illness. Hey, it’s wintertime.
But, when Jackson was knocked out of the Ravens’ loss Sunday night to the New England Patriots with a back injury, coach John Harbaugh initially called it “a bruise of some kind,” a description that seemed incompatible with accounts of Jackson’s pain levels.
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Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley said Jackson could “barely move” on the sideline. Jackson struggled to get dressed in the locker room afterward. He spoke to reporters in pained, hushed tones.
But not all bruises are inflicted equally. Harbaugh on Wednesday said Jackson was dealing with a “deep-tissue contusion,” which typically produces not only skin discoloration but swelling inside muscles and connective tissues. Jackson is considered doubtful for Saturday’s must-win game against the Green Bay Packers after missing the week of practice.
“It’s legitimate and very painful,” Harbaugh said of Jackson’s back injury. “The muscles lock up around it. You can’t really move very well. He’s in that process now of loosening all that up, hopefully. You can’t really say when it’s going to be right. He has to be able to play. He has to be able to be an athlete and be able to move. …
“To be an athlete, you have to be able to move around and do your thing. So that’s what you’re working back toward with all the treatment and everything.”
Jackson’s not the only notable athlete to be sidelined by a contusion this year. Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic missed a game this week and three games in late October with a leg contusion.
Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry missed five games over a two-week span in November and December with a quadriceps contusion and muscle strain. Milwaukee Brewers star pitcher Jacob Misiorowski missed over two weeks in August with a tibia contusion.
Even with the NFL’s quarterback-friendly rule book, Jackson could make himself a target with a premature return. Doncic, Curry and Misiorowski never had to deal with the risk of 300-pound defensive linemen launching themselves at their bruised body parts. Jackson would.
After Sunday’s loss, Jackson said he was hopeful about playing in Green Bay, where the Ravens need a victory to preserve their hopes of earning a playoff berth. But the pain that kept him from returning Sunday and from practicing this week might be enough to sideline him again Saturday.
“Believe me, if he can go out there and do it — this guy’s one of the ultimate competitors that you’re ever going to see,” Harbaugh said. “If he’s able to go, he’s going to be out there going.”





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