Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson could be thrust into lineup

The Lamar Jackson era could be ushered in for the Baltimore Ravens as soon as this week due to Joe Flacco’s injury as his status for Week 11 is unclear.

After a three game losing streak, the Baltimore Ravens head into their week 10 bye with a 4-5 record, third place in the AFC North. There have been many rumors about Lamar Jackson getting more playing time in recent weeks.

Although previously the rumors centered around Joe Flacco’s performance, Jackson may end up starting due to Flacco injuring his hip early in the Pittsburgh Steelers game last week (although he finished the game), leaving his status as questionable, potentially requiring multiple weeks of rest, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Athletic.

Ian Rapport also reported that Flacco will be tested to see what the severity of his hip injury is and whether or not he will sit out next week. This may end up as a one-week injury or could be multiple weeks as it could jeopardize his 2018 season if he does need surgery.

After the Ravens drafted Lamar Jackson in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, everyone knew Flacco’s job was threatened. With this injury, the Ravens could get away with cutting him next year despite his large contract, according to Spotrac and Jason La Canfora.

This would be rough for him but at the end of the day, it was likely he would not be a Raven after this season anyway. Flacco started off hot statistically but during their losing streak, Flacco has regressed tremendously as the team itself could not finish against teams they should have beat or they did not show up at all prepared, which is evident during the game.

With the Ravens on the cusp of ending up out of the playoffs for the third straight year, head coach John Harbaugh’s seat has been hot the past few weeks as week 11 against the Cincinnati Bengals at home was pinned as a “must-win” game if the Ravens want any shot at a Wildcard spot for the 2018 playoffs.

A loss in week 11 would almost rule out the Ravens mathematically for the playoffs in 2018 and it might be better in terms of a potential rebuild to just start it this year instead of next year if they are not in contention.

If Flacco cannot play the week after the bye, I would suggest starting the rebuild now with Lamar Jackson at the helm. The Ravens signed Robert Griffin III in the offseason as the backup to mentor Jackson but he has been inactive so far this year. I would rather see Jackson as he has gotten regular season playing time in specific packages. With his athletic ability, he has flashed when he is on the field and his progress on the field has gotten better over the course of the season.

It would make sense to start the rebuild now instead of waiting for next year as it will benefit the team in the long run. If the Ravens are still in the hunt after week 11, there may be discussions about whether to play Flacco again when he returns from injury or even RGIII but a loss and a record of 4-6 would likely be the beginning of the Jackson era as the starting quarterback.