Baltimore Ravens coach Jesse Minter is optimistic that star quarterback Lamar Jackson will return from an ankle injury to play against the host Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
Jackson has missed the past three games due to the high left ankle sprain sustained in the second quarter of a victory over the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 4.
“I think he was able to get in a little bit of work obviously towards the end of last week,” Minter told reporters Monday. “And so I think he’ll be in a decent spot, but we’ll know a lot more on Wednesday.”
The two-time NFL MVP was listed as questionable Friday for Baltimore’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, then ruled out one day later. The Ravens went on to lose 35-13.
CBS Sports said on its game broadcast that Jackson sustained a setback on Saturday and that was why he was scratched. Minter seemed to take exception to the suggestion.
“So look, if he’s able to play — that’s healthy enough to play, and play the way that obviously we feel like he needs to play — then he will play,” Minter said.
The Ravens played a dominant first half against Cincinnati when they controlled the ball for over 22 minutes and led 13-0. But the Bengals steamrolled Baltimore in the second half with five straight touchdown drives.
Tyler “Snoop” Huntley passed for a career-best 298 yards against Cincinnati in his third straight start. Still, Baltimore hasn’t scored a single point in the second halves of the past two games and is averaging 17.7 points in Huntley’s three starts.
Minter didn’t want to cite the absence of Jackson as the issue.
“Lamar’s 1 of 1, right? Two-time MVP, obviously a high-caliber player, but I just don’t like the built-in excuse of why things are going a certain way,” Minter said. “So while we know the caliber of player Lamar is and the numbers when he’s out there versus when he’s not, we understand all that. That’s why he’s who he is and why he’s won the awards that he’s won, but we can still operate better in those times where we don’t have him for sure.”