Lamar Jackson, Ravens controversy: Mike Florio gives update on fallout, punishment for injury report misinformation

An NFL insider shared new information on the Baltimore Ravens making a practice mistake on Lamar Jackson. On NBC’s Football Night in America, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk revealed what could happen to the Ravens after claiming that Jackson was a full participant in practice instead of being limited.

“John Harbaugh, the coach of the team, told reporters after the game it was an honest mistake. But that still sets the Ravens up for some sort of a sanction,” Florio said. “The question is, when the league looks into this, will they determine there was some sort of an effort to conceal his true status by saying he fully participated? Maybe the Bears would think he’s going to play.

“If they find something like that, the punishment could be worse. Now, the Ravens are looking at fines, they’re looking at the potential loss of draft picks, and even suspensions are on the table based upon what the NFL may find out. A source told me today the NFL understands, given what happened in the NBA, it’s very bad optics. As the source said, it’s an opportunity for the league to make a very strong statement on a very important topic.”

On Saturday, the NFL said it will investigate the Ravens’ handling of Lamar Jackson’s practice participation, which led to him being ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears because of a hamstring injury. On the same day, the Ravens issued a statement explaining the issue.

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“Lamar Jackson was present for and participated fully in our entire Friday practice,” the team said. “…Upon further evaluation today and after conferring with the league office, because Lamar didn’t take any starter reps in practice, we updated our report to reflect his practice participation.”

Per NFL policy (via ESPN), “A player who participates in individual drills, but for medical reasons doesn’t take his normal repetitions during the team portion of practice and is assigned to the scout team should be listed as ‘limited participation.’ Participation on the scout team, no matter how extensive, by a player whose normal repetitions would be with the starter but for his medical condition, would not alter the player’s proper designation as ‘limited participation.'”

Jackson suffered a hamstring injury in the game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 28. The two-time NFL MVP has missed the last three games, and the Ravens have gone 1-2 during that span.

Before the injury, Jackson threw for 869 yards, 10 touchdowns, and one interception in four games. Last year, he finished second in MVP voting after throwing for 4,172 yards, 41 touchdowns, and four interceptions, while rushing for 915 yards and four TDs.