Lamar Jackson tells Ravens teammates hes hoping to return from injury this season: Just stay alive
The crux of Lamar Jackson’s message to his Ravens teammates — in the aftermath of a fractured and dislocated right thumb that threatened to end his season — was simple.“Just stay alive,” Jackson said, according to ESPN, which cited it as a paraphrased version of a statement that doubled as a plan to return. When Jackson, who’d already missed three games this season with a high-ankle sprain, sustained the thumb injury on the Ravens’ first offensive snap of their game Sunday against the Bills, it was feared to potentially be a season-ending one.But Jackson, the 29-year-old and two-time MVP, reportedly plans to return the season, with the recovery timeline for his injury typically taking at least six weeks and possibly up to nine weeks, according to ESPN.If he missed nine weeks, that could allow Jackson to return in early January for the regular-season finale against the Steelers — and anything that followed in the playoffs for the 4-5 Ravens who’ve now lost four consecutive games following a 4-1 start to the 2026 campaign.They also have a pair of games on Dec.27 and 31 against the Browns and Bengals in Weeks 16 and 17, respectively.The Ravens placed Jackson — who has thrown for 967 yards and six touchdowns this season, while rushing for another 144 yards and a touchdown — on injured reserve, but he wasn’t ruled out for the season and would be eligible to return.When Jackson spoke with his teammates, he was “energizing” and “exciting,” according to ESPN.When the hand of Bills outside linebacker Greg Rousseau connected with Jackson’s right thumb, it marked another devastating injury blow to the Ravens this season — and marked just the start of more quarterback chaos.Tyler Huntley, who entered for Jackson in Buffalo, exited in the second quarter with a season-ending turf toe injury, leaving third-string quarterback Joe Fagnano to finish the loss to the Bills and start their loss to the Jaguars on Thursday.Baltimore subsequently acqui...