Ravens franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson has missed his third consecutive game this season after suffering an ankle injury against the Tennessee Titans in Week 4. Jackson's return remains uncertain, and the Ravens' Super Bowl visions get blurrier each week he misses.
The Ravens lost their divisional matchup Sunday to the Cincinnati Bengals 35-13, dropping to last in the AFC North with a 4-3 record.
Monday, Fox Sports analyst and host of The Herd , Colin Cowherd, sounded off on Jackson, saying he doesn't see the nine-year veteran as a consistent quarterback you can trust.
"I said during the offseason, I'm done with Lamar as a Super Bowl quarterback; he's talented, it's too noisy, it's too weird," Cowherd said .
According to Cowherd, Jackson's teammates are even confused as to why he isn't on the field despite injury reports. But Cowherd alluded to the team potentially thinking of their star player's longevity.
"He's missed 19 games since 2021, and it's weird," Cowherd added. "Lamar's been day-to-day for a month. Tracy Wolfson said that this weekend, she was the sideline reporter in the Ravens-Bengals game, and she tweeted that 'Jackson not being able to play came as a shock to his team.' Even Jesse Minter said, 'Well, it's a bit of a mischaracterization.'
"So you find with Lamar now they're protecting him; they don't want to blow it up. They like him. And I'm not denying he's great, but I like my quarterbacks available and my movies to have mystery, not my quarterbacks. And it's just a little odd, and it's noisy, and he's not available, and nobody gets answers, and he's sick — no, he's not; he's practicing, but he's not playing. Again, I like predictable with my quarterbacks."
Cowherd has begun to see Jackson as a problem for the Ravens and their Super Bowl hopes, calling the two-time MVP "maintenance."
"I think Lamar has become, for an organization, some maintenance, and that's just not what you want at quarterback. A little noisy, a lot of maintenance, some mystery — it's odd to me."
First-year Ravens head coach Jesse Minter gave an update on Jackson's condition but didn't give a very clear answer on when he will return.
"Lamar is working his butt off to be out there," Minter said, via The Herd . "I think he was able to get in a little bit of work at the end of last week. So I think he'll be at a decent spot, but we'll know more on Wednesday.
"I'm not going to speak on the details of anybody's injury, so if he's able to play, um, that's healthy enough to play and play the way that, you know, obviously feels like the way he needs to play, then he will play."
"We're getting to that word salad stuff," Cowherd said in response to Minter's comments. "Is he available or not? Is he practicing or not? Is he ready to go?"
The Ravens have a tough matchup against the Buffalo Bills this Sunday, and this week could be a pivotal moment in their season, especially if they can find a win against the AFC East leaders.
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