Lamar Jackson is heading for thumb surgery after suffering a new injury on the first play of his highly-anticipated return to the Baltimore Ravens' lineup.

The superstar quarterback, who is on a $260 million contract, missed the Ravens' last three games with an ankle injury but was finally ready to return to the team against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

His day ended in remarkable circumstances on the first snap though, as he dropped back and bounced a pass attempt to star wide receiver Zay Flowers.

Jackson was unable to finish his follow-through and his right hand struck Buffalo pass rusher Greg Rousseau's arm.

He immediately left the field and was quickly ruled out by medical staff, with head coach Jesse Minter confirming after the game that the quarterback needs thumb surgery and will immediately be placed on injured reserve.

That designation means he will miss at least the next four games, but the injury could yet end his miserable 2026 season.

'That'll be a surgery deal,' Minter told reporters after the game. 'He'll go to IR. That's a tough deal.' 

Later in the game, the Ravens' roster problems went from bad to worse as backup Tyler Huntley also suffered an injury to his toe early in the second quarter.

Baltimore was forced to turn to emergency third-string quarterback, Joe Fagnano, an undrafted rookie out of Connecticut.

Huntley appeared to get hurt when he was sacked by safety Cole Bishop and fumbled on third-and-8 at the Baltimore 40.

The Ravens listed Huntley's return as questionable, before ruling him out to start the third quarter.

Fagnano made his NFL debut in taking over the next series as Baltimore's emergency backup. He completed his first two passes for 28 yards.

It was a difficult afternoon for the Ravens overall though, with the Bills seeing them off in style in a 36-10 blowout. 

Baltimore (now 4-4) went 1-2 in Jackson's absence in a stretch in which their offensive production drastically dropped off under Huntley. 

Baltimore scored 63 fewer points and averaged 3 fewer yards per play in the past three games as opposed to the first three under Jackson.