Lamar Jackson Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
By Kevin Harrish on

It was initially expected that Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson would miss between one and three weeks with a knee injury he sustained last month but would be ready for the NFL playoffs. But he’s now missed four straight games and has just been ruled out for his fifth.

On Sunday afternoon, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh formally announced that Lamar Jackson would be out for Sunday afternoon’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Of course, this is pretty huge news ahead of an important matchup. While Cincinnati has already earned the AFC North title due to its win percentage, a strange league rule change in response to the canceled Bills-Bengals game would have given te Ravens home-field advantage in the divisional round of the playoffs if they beat the Bengals and won a coin toss.

More than that, this update puts Jackson’s status for the playoffs in question, and the NFL world had plenty to say about his prolonged absence.

“I feel like he doesn’t even play in the NFL anymore,” NFL writer John Frascella said on Twitter.

“Will Lamar return next week for the playoffs?” sports podcaster Mark Gunnels said in a Tweet.

“Well, that’s no fun.” Chiefs fan account The Kingdom said in a Tweet.

https://twitter.com/Cianaf/status/1611426776093282311

“You’d think with Lamar missing half the season they’d be able to get a high draft pick and rebuild the offence somewhat yet they’re still a 10-win team,” Ravens fan and writer Cian said on Twitter.

It’s not clear when or if Jackson will return this season and Harbaugh did not want to talk about his status for the playoffs when asked about it earlier this week.

[Adam Schefter]

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