Ravens rookie head coach Jesse Minter continues to speak in guarded and cryptic tones about the status of two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson ahead of a critical game at Buffalo in Week 8. The team is nearing the midpoint of the season in a downward spiral and Jackson, recovering from what he called a "high-ankle sprain," has arguably a greater impact on regular-season wins and losses than any NFL player.

Minter’s defense is getting overrun in the second half of games – allowing 114 points in the second half, most in the NFL – with some in rival NFL front offices believing the young coach needs help from a former head coach/defensive coordinator to fix systemic issues in their game-day process. In two straight weeks the offense has failed to score in the second half with back-up Snoop Huntley filling in, while the defense blew a 13-point lead to the Browns and Bengals.

The Ravens have an NFL record 17 losses with a double-digit lead since 2019, the collapses have only gotten worse under Minter – allowing 35 unanswered points Sunday at home was a new low – and while general manager Eric DeCosta’s rosters are undoubtedly a major part of the problem (his job security should be under intense scrutiny after head coach John Harbaugh was already fired for all the late-game debacles), Minter is in the crosshairs now and badly needs his best player back.

After asserting for three weeks – during which Jackson never once practiced fully – that the star was “day-to-day” with an ankle injury that the team was certainly couching as not too severe – Minter stayed away from that wording on Monday. But he uttered it again as recently as Friday, although Jackson made it clear in his remarks on Friday that the injury was extremely painful, saying he still has been unable to run normally since suffering the injury in Week 4.

“I think he’ll be in a decent spot but we'll know a lot more on Wednesday,” Minter said.

It’s fair to assume at this point that Jackson will not play until he is able to practice fully with no setbacks. The CBS broadcast of Week 7’s game referred to “swelling” over the weekend after limited practice Wed-Fri as the cause for Jackson being downgraded to out on Saturday after being listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report.

“I’m not going to speak really on the details of anybody’s injury,” Minter said. “… Look, if he’s able to play and is healthy enough to play and play the way he needs to play, then he will play.”

Did The Ravens Think He’d Play Week 7?

The CBS broadcast also asserted that the Ravens were surprised that Jackson was not able to face the Bengals. To that Minter said, “I would say a little bit,” pointing to an ongoing feeling-out process with the ankle.

Of course, the backdrop to the situation is the fact that Jackson is the rarest of superstar quarterbacks in his prime who has reached a point in his contract with no future guarantees beyond this season. He carries an untenable $85M cap hit in 2027, with a no-trade clause and a no-franchise tag clause, which gives him NBA levels of leverage over where he plays next season and how much he makes.

Minter continues to say that Jackson is “working his butt off” to return as soon as his body will allow him, and he has repeatedly refereed to this decision as one the team and QB and medical staff would make together. The Ravens win 70% of their regular season games that Jackson starts and are a losing franchise without him since he took over as starter midway through the 2018 season.

His career arc with them has been highly unusual throughout, demanding a trade at one point and getting no interest as a de-facto free agent on a non-exclusive tag, which later become fodder in an NFLPA collusion case. Given the strange backdrop between player and team, calling this a “day-to-day” injury for the better part of a month seems to have been another unforced error by this franchise.

Beating Buffalo coming off a bye would be a stretch and the Ravens have a quick turnaround hosting Jacksonville on Thursday night in Week 9.

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