A longer-than-anticipated recovery for Lamar Jackson had led to a ton of criticism of him. But after much deliberation, he finally made his return to the field in Week 8, in a blockbuster showdown against the Buffalo Bills.
Unfortunately, his return to action lasted just one play. An injury on the first drive of the game for the Baltimore Ravens saw him come out of the game again, and the football world was stunned by the bizarre turn of events.
When he was on the field to start the year, Jackson was performing at a sublime level. Ranking at number 2 on PFN's Quarterback Impact Metric, he felt like an immediate MVP candidate as he exploded out of the gate.
But an ankle injury in Week 4 pulled him out of the game. At the time, the Ravens did not rule out returning the following week. However, his recovery timeline kept getting delayed as the Ravens continued to slip in the standings.
As he finally returned in Week 8 amid much fanfare, the stage was set for an epic duel. Unfortunately, an injury to his throwing hand on the first pass led to him checking out and heading to the locker room.
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The stunning exit immediately sparked concern and reaction across the NFL world, with observers trying to make sense of what had happened to Jackson on his first play back.
"It appears to be a throwing hand injury for Lamar Jackson," Cameron Wolfe shared on X. "He immediately went to the sideline like he knew something was wrong. Pass to Zay Flowers came out underthrown."
The reaction from Jackson and the immediate treatment made it clear that something wasn't quite right, as Nate Geary asked , "Oh man, did Lamar just break his thumb?"
The bizarreness of the situation was shocking to some, as Chris Cooper admitted, "You just really can't make this up."
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As John Frascella exclaimed , "Lamar Jackson can't stay healthy," Marcus Mosher saw it as the end of the Ravens' season, writing, "And that's probably it for the Ravens this season. Thanks for coming out."
Boston Connor of "The Pat McAfee Show" reacted to the injury and wrote, "Lamar Jackson first play getting hurt again is a real gut punch – already heading to the locker room Have been looking forward to Lamar vs Josh all week."
Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe also reacted to the injury and said, "Lamar has the most terrible luck. 1st play bangs his hand and has 2 leave the [game]."
Jackson was soon ruled out for the remainder of the game with the right thumb injury, forcing Tyler Huntley back under center. But Baltimore's quarterback situation grew even more concerning when Huntley was seen receiving treatment on his foot on the sideline, leaving emergency third quarterback Joe Fagnano as the Ravens' next option if Huntley is unable to continue.
Without their superstar quarterback once again, things could get extremely dire for the Ravens. Missing the playoffs last year, they made a plethora of changes this offseason. But to reach a similar result once again would be devastating for the franchise.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
