Lamar Jackson season status unclear after thumb injury

Why is Lamar Jackson out for the season trending

Is Lamar Jackson out for the season has no firm answer yet, and that is exactly why the question is all over Google right now. The Ravens quarterback returned from his last absence on Sunday in Buffalo and lasted one play before leaving with a right thumb injury that will require surgery. Head coach Jesse Minter confirmed after the 36-10 loss to the Bills that Jackson will go on injured reserve, which keeps him out at least four games. Asked directly if the injury could end Jackson's season, Minter did not rule it out. "Potentially, but we'll see where it's at," he said.

What is known is that surgery is coming and the IR stint alone pushes Jackson's return past Thanksgiving. What is not known is whether that stint becomes the rest of the year. Minter's answer left the door open instead of closing it, and the Ravens have not given a timetable beyond the mandatory four games.

The stakes are blunt. Baltimore is 4-4 and sitting in the AFC North cellar. Since 2019, the Ravens are 7-14 in games Jackson has not started, averaging 17.6 points without him. This season specifically, the offense has managed six touchdowns in the 18 quarters Jackson has missed.

What happened in Buffalo on Sunday

Jackson's comeback lasted exactly one offensive snap before the thumb injury ended his day. The timing made an already bad afternoon worse for Baltimore's quarterback room. Backup Tyler Huntley also left the game and did not return, and the Ravens are unsure if he can play Thursday because of a toe injury. Minter said Monday that Huntley "probably won't play" on the short week and that the team would evaluate it "from a long-term standpoint."

That left undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano as the only healthy quarterback on the field against Josh Allen and the Bills, with no practice time to prepare. He finished 10 of 21 for 91 yards, threw a pick and took three sacks. It was about what anyone would expect from a third-string rookie dropped into a road game with zero notice.

What the Ravens do now

Fagnano is confirmed to start Thursday night at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are playing well right now. Baltimore is on a short week with two banged-up quarterbacks and a rookie turned starter running the offense. The Nov. 10 trade deadline is now a real question for a front office that expected to be chasing a division title with Jackson healthy.

Sports media has already started floating names. On Nightcap, Chad Johnson said the Ravens need a veteran arm, saying "we have to salvage the season." His co-host Shannon Sharpe suggested Atlanta's Andy Dalton, who has been the Falcons' emergency quarterback the last two weeks after they cut Cooper Rush. Dalton is 39 and has not played more than six games in a season since 2022. None of that is Baltimore's call. It is sports talk, not a roster move.

What is still unresolved

Jackson's contract situation is also part of the backdrop now, though that is a conversation for another day. Right now the Ravens' plan is survival: get the thumb through surgery and recovery, get through Jacksonville with whatever healthy arm is left, and wait on Minter's own answer about whether this is a four-game absence or a lost season. Baltimore sits two wins behind the division-leading Steelers, so the math is not dead. It is just tied to a question nobody can answer yet.

Facts per NFL.com, Yahoo Sports. Opinion is the taproom's.