NFL playoffs: Lamar Jackson says he ‘hopes’ to play, but Ravens QB would be way off

The biggest question of the NFL wild card weekend may be the availability of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who said Thursday he still hopes to play Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The former MVP missed the final five games of the regular season with a PCL sprain, although he was originally considered for a week-to-week in early December. Every week, every practice since has seen hopes of a comeback dashed, and now the Ravens may only have one more game to get it back.

Jackson himself opened up about his condition on Thursday, when he revealed his injury was a Grade 2 PCL sprain bordering on a Grade 3. His knee would remain inflamed and unstable, but he insisted that he “hopes” he can still make a comeback:

Unfortunately, most reports on Jackson are less optimistic. Shortly before Jackson’s tweet, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Jackson had not practiced again on Thursday, his 17th consecutive missed practice, and was not expected to play on Sunday.

The Ravens could definitely use Lamar Jackson right now

Since Jackson’s fall, the Ravens are 2-3 averaging 13.0 points per game. Things went from bad to worse last week, when quarterback Tyler Huntley also suffered a shoulder and wrist injury, leaving undrafted rookie third string Anthony Brown to start in a must-win game.

Brown struggled heavily in what ended up being a 27-16 loss to the Bengals in Week 18. Once 9-4 and tied with the Bengals atop the AFC North, more ahead of any wild team -card, the Ravens stumbled to a 10-7 record.

The good news for Baltimore is that although Jackson still looks a long way off for the first round of the playoffs, Huntley resumed throwing Thursday, according to Schefter, and was recorded as a limited participant in practice.

Clearly, nothing is going to be easy for Ravens this week, win or lose. If they win, it probably won’t even be easy next week. And with its long contract stalemate still in the background, the team also appears to be on track for a complicated offseason.