The Baltimore Ravens entered this season with title hopes, and now they're needing to ask a rather important question repeatedly: When will Lamar Jackson return?
The answer is far off in the future, and almost certainly too far to play another meaningful snap this season. Making matters worse is an also season-ending injury to Baltimore's backup, leading to desperate measures as a journeyman replacement in Jacoby Brissett is brought in now.
Long term, the Ravens are hoping that Brissett helps to alleviate some pain at the position. But short term, there's a heavily slanted matchup ahead on Thursday Night Football.
Ravens vs. Jaguars odds
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Jaguars
When will Lamar Jackson return?
Lamar Jackson returned from a three-game absence in Week 8 due to an ankle injury, but it ended up being only a cameo appearance. The Baltimore Ravens megastar quickly exited in the first quarter against the Buffalo Bills after hitting his hand on pass-rusher Greg Rousseau.
It occurred on what would be his first and only dropback of the day, and quite likely his final one of the season. He hasn't been officially ruled out for the remainder of the campaign, but that seems like the path the passer is heading down. Head coach Jesse Minter hinted at that while saying Jackson's season could "potentially" be done.
For now, he's on the injured reserve, but the problems at a vital position for the Ravens don't end there. Tyler Huntley, who has at times been serviceable while replacing Jackson, also suffered a season-ending toe injury, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
That puts the Ravens in an especially precarious position as their season keeps slipping away following three straight losses, two of which have been to division rivals (the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals).
Lamar Jackson injury history
| Date | Team | Injury | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 24, 2015 |
 LOU |
Ankle sprain (Grade 1) | Nov. 7, 2015 Missed 1 game |
| Dec. 12, 2021 |
 BAL |
Right ankle sprain / bone bruise | Sept. 11, 2022 Missed final 4 games of season |
| Dec. 4, 2022 |
BAL |
Left knee PCL sprain (Grade 2) | Sept. 10, 2023 Missed final 5 reg. season games + WC playoff |
| Nov. 16, 2023 |
BAL |
Ankle tweak | Nov. 26, 2023 Returned same game; no starts missed |
| Nov. 23, 2025 |
BAL |
Hamstring / Back / Ankle aggravation | Dec. 21, 2025 Missed 4 games in 2025 season |
| Oct. 4, 2026 |
BAL |
Pedal ankle sprain (Grade 1) | Nov. 1, 2026 Missed 3 games (Weeks 5–7) |
| Nov. 1, 2026 |
BAL |
Right thumb fracture / ligament damage | Placed on IR Out for the remainder of the season |
Who's starting for the Ravens this week?
Joe Fagnano is surely set to start on Thursday Night Football against the high-flying Jacksonville Jaguars. He's an undrafted rookie dealing with an injury of his own and was limited at practice earlier this week with an ankle problem.
Fagnano struggled immensely against the Bills in Week 8 while completing just 47.6% of his pass attempts for 91 yards and an interception. He couldn't move the ball downfield whatsoever in a clear passing situation amid an eventual 36-10 blowout loss, averaging just 4.3 yards per throw.
The first-year signal-caller seems out of his depth, and that's why the Ravens brought in an experienced veteran. They traded on Wednesday for Jacoby Brissett, the 11th-year pro who had fallen out of favor with the Arizona Cardinals.
Brissett predictably regressed this season, but a quality campaign last year with 23 touchdown passes, eight interceptions, 3,366 passing yards, and a 94.1 QB rating isn't far in the rearview. He's now the longer-term solution this year in Baltimore. But as Schefter notes, the deal won't be completed in time for Thursday Night Football, leaving Fagnano to be thrust into the fire.
Lamar Jackson injury: Odds impact
If we use our imagination while looking at the NFL Week 9 odds and envision a world with a healthy and fully functioning Jackson, the spread ahead of the Ravens vs. Jaguars clash would be dramatically different.
For perspective, the mighty Bills are also Super Bowl contenders, and they closed as -3 home favorites last week against the Ravens with Jackson then set to start. The 5-2 Jaguars are surging while boasting the league's best point differential at plus-85, and it's not especially close (the Bills are second at plus-52). Still, they would have been far shorter favorites in the Thursday Night Football odds with Jackson available, or even if Brissett was officially on board and ready.
As it stands, the -10 spread favoring Jacksonville is among the largest of Week 9. That's skyrocketed in Jacksonville's favor since the Ravens were -3 favorites on the lookahead lines prior to Jackson's injury, when the market first opened on Oct. 27. The first sharp swing then came this past Sunday night, when Jacksonville became the -7.5 favorite.
The spread has continued to inch upward since then, hitting -9.5 on Tuesday, and even touching -10.5 then, too. We see a similar dramatic change in the total, which opened at a lofty 48.5, but is now down all the way to a basement-level 39.5.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
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