Lamar Jackson’s Practice Status Flip Sparks NFL Investigation

The Ravens beat the Bears 30–16 on Sunday for their second win of the season and first since Sept. 14, but the NFL is investigating the team’s injury reporting around quarterback Lamar Jackson, who missed his third straight game with a hamstring injury.

Baltimore could be disciplined for initially listing Jackson as a full participant in Friday’s practice and then, on Saturday, downgrading his game status to out while also retroactively changing his Friday practice status to limited.

The Sessions in Question

The team explained the Friday practice situation, in which Jackson worked with the scout team, in a statement Saturday: “Lamar Jackson was present for and participated fully in our entire practice ahead of Sunday’s game against the Bears. Upon further evaluation and after conferring with the league office, because Lamar didn’t take starter reps in practice, we updated our report to reflect his practice participation.”

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told ESPN that the league “will look into this” since it “reviews any matter involving a change to a player’s status.” Previous punishments for not properly disclosing a player’s injury status have included monetary fines and loss of draft picks.

NFL Eyes NBA Scandal

The Jackson situation is bad timing for the NFL, given last week’s sports betting scandal that put a black mark on the NBA.

On Friday, one day after the FBI revealed its findings and arrested Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Heat guard Terry Rozier, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to all 32 of the league’s clubs reminding players and personnel about the NFL’s gambling policy. 

In 2023, the NFL suspended nine players for violating its gambling policy, but no player has been punished since then.