Lamar Jackson came back to the Ravens from a three-week absence and suffered what appeared to be a significant thumb injury on first snap, which casts further doubt on a season already on the brink.

Jackson dropped back to pass under immediate pressure and Bills elite pass rusher Greg Rousseau following through on a pass rush and hitting Jackson’s right hand with some velocity as he released an incomplete pass. Jackson immediately grabbed his hand, began moving to the sidelines with great pace and was whisked back to the locker room for immediate medical attention. The CBS cameras picked up a shot of the hand in which there was clearly damage around the thumb and Jackson appeared to be in great pain. The Ravens ruled out Jackson for the rest of the game before the first quarter had concluded.

Thumb injuries on a quarterback’s throwing hand tend to be very difficult to navigate, and, without having any other information it would be quite surprising to see Jackson be able to come back in to the game with an apparatus of some sort. One former NFL head coach was I was texting with during the game immediately commented that it looked serious to him, he has seen multiple quarterbacks take hits like that and it tends to be problematic with the tendons and ligaments around the thumb and all the torque needed to deliver the ball with velocity and accuracy

What Now?

Back-up quarterback Snoop Huntley was thrust back into the game after successive games in which he and the offense failed to score a point in the second half with rookie offensive coordinator Declan Doyle calling plays for the first time this year. The Ravens were hopeful that Jackson could reignite their failing run game with Derrick Henry looking his age at 32 behind a bad offensive line, but Huntley has not activated his legs and he cannot push the ball downfield.

The Ravens win 70% of their regular season games that Jackson starts and are 7-14 without him, with general manger Eric DeCosta a fraudulent roster builder and talent evaluator. Decosta has also repeatedly failed to extend Jackson like a normal front office would, putting themselves in  a massive hole now, with Jackson a de-facto free agent in 2027, with a no-trade clause and no-franchise tag clause and $85M cap hit, and Baltimore a team in serious decline liking having to gut the roster next year with a $370M payroll heavy on bloated contracts and short on blue chip players.

There is a growing drumbeat in NFL personnel circles that the Miami Dolphins will make a serious push for Jackson, who is a native of that area and spends his offseasons there. The Ravens maintained Jackson was “day-to-day” while missing three weeks with the high-ankle sprain, during which time he could barely run or practice for the most part.

Huntley was getting attention on the sidelines after the Ravens cut the deficit to 10-7. Undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano (UCONN) is the emergency third QB.