Ravens: Illness — not ailing hip — kept Lamar Jackson from practice on Thursday
Lamar Jackson missed Baltimore Ravens practice on Thursday, three days after head coach John Harbaugh said he was dealing with an ailing hip.
But according to the Ravens, it was illness — not a hip injury — that kept their quarterback sidelined.
Baltimore listed Jackson as "did not participate" with an illness designation on its Thursday injury report. The designation confirms reports from ESPN and NFL Network that Jackson was sick with a stomach bug and is expected to be fine for Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions.
Jackson's absence initially raised concerns after Harbaugh told reporters on Monday that Jackson hurt his hip during Sunday's win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
"Then I heard his hip hurt, and I’m like, ‘I’m not surprised,'" Harbaugh told reporters, per ESPN's Jamison Hensley.
Why wasn't Harbaugh surprised? Because Jackson apparently tweaked his hip while flipping into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown against the Chiefs.
Lamar Jackson didn’t quite stick the landing on his flip into the end zone 😅
pic.twitter.com/iU1bexPq73— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) September 20, 2021
Jackson admitted on Wednesday that his hip was sore due to the celebratory flip. He did so with a smile on his face and no qualms about flipping in the future.
"I'm kinda sore... I'll probably do it again though. It was pretty cool." @Lj_era8 on the flip pic.twitter.com/9zDQxH5REd
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 22, 2021
"I'm kinda sore," Jackson said. "I didn't wanna tell coach — coach probably would've said something to me about flipping next time. I'd probably do it again though. It was pretty cool."
Notice that the Ravens tweeted out Jackson's comments. They're clearly not concerned about his hip. They're much more interested in celebrating Jackson after he propelled one of the biggest regular-season wins in franchise history.
What does Harbaugh think about Jackson's flip? He's likewise not concerned— with one caveat.
"As long as you hold onto ball," Harbaugh said Monday.
As for Sunday against the Lions, it sounds like there's no reason for worry over Jackson's illness — or his hip.
But stay tuned to the Ravens' injury updates.