Ravens' John Harbaugh explains Lamar Jackson practice report, availability

C.J. Doon, The Baltimore Sun on Oct 26, 2025

Published in Football

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BALTIMORE — After the Ravens’ handling of quarterback Lamar Jackson’s practice participation prompted an NFL investigation, coach John Harbaugh said that it was an “honest mistake.”

Jackson didn’t play in Sunday’s 30-16 win over the Chicago Bears after initially being ruled questionable with a hamstring injury following Friday’s practice, in which he was listed as a full participant. But the Ravens clarified a day later that Jackson didn’t take starter reps in practice, so his participation was changed to limited and he was ruled out.

Baltimore could be subject to discipline by the league for the error, which violates NFL rules. An NFL spokesperson told The Baltimore Sun that it “reviews any matter involving a change to a player’s status.”

After Sunday’s win, Harbaugh said that he’s not involved in the injury designations, deferring to the team’s training staff and public relations staff. He said that he didn’t know the rules and that the Ravens “weren’t going to rule [Jackson] out until we had to.”

“It’s an honest mistake,” Harbaugh said. “I can tell you this nobody’s trying to hide anything. There’s no advantage to be gained.”

Huntley said that he learned Saturday night that he would be the starting quarterback Sunday. The 27-year-old, who began his career in Baltimore as an undrafted free agent, completed 17 of 22 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 53 yards on eight carries after supplanting backup Cooper Rush, who started the previous two games. The win halted a four-game losing streak and lifted the Ravens to 5-12 in games that Jackson has missed during his career.

“I usually prepare every day like I’m the starter, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise,” said Huntley, who noted that he talks to Jackson “all the time.”

Harbaugh said that the Ravens were planning during the bye week to start Huntley if Jackson was unavailable.

As far as Jackson’s availability next week for the Ravens’ Thursday night matchup against the host Miami Dolphins, Harbaugh was not ready to make any declarations about the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player. Jackson hasn’t played since suffering the injury in Week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 28.

“I’m hopeful. I’m just going to say that: I’m hopeful,” Harbaugh said. “As a coach, you ask, ‘How’s he doing?’ That’s about as much as you do. ‘What do you think?’ And then you get the guys ready that are going to play. And when the guys come back to practice, you put them in there. That’s how it works on the coaching side. The coaches aren’t involved with statuses or whether guys are playing or not.”

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