Lamar Jackson was once thought to be set for a return to the field tomorrow against the Chicago Bears, but now he will not play at all. And Jason McIntyre has a theory about it.
On Saturday, the Baltimore Ravens were reported to have declared their star quarterback a “limited” participant in Friday’s practice and ruled him out of the upcoming game. He had initially been deemed “questionable” after recovering from a hamstring injury and “fully” practicing.
That led to speculation that they had been colluding to influence gamblers, not helped by this betting line update some hours before the shocking change:
The Bears-Ravens line has finally moved. Now Ravens -3.5 on @bet365.
Looking to predict NFL playoff Scenarios? Try our NFL Playoff Predictor for real-time simulations and stay ahead of the game!
McIntyre, host of the Straight Fire podcast, subscribed to that theory:
“Harbaugh announced Lamar practiced in full Friday. (The) line moved, money poured in. A day later they said oh he *didn’t* practice in full. He was limited. WTH?? Now he’s out. Very shady. NBA/Rozier shady here”
Harbaugh announced Lamar practiced in full Friday. line moved, money poured in. A day later they said oh he *didn’t* practice in full. He was limited. WTH?? Now he’s out. Very shady. NBA/Rozier shady here
As per Ian Rapoport, the NFL has since vowed to investigate the Ravens for such an act:
The NFL will look into the #Ravens practice and participation situation surrounding Lamar Jackson’s status, I’m told, as it reviews any matter involving a change to a player’s status.
Mike Florio explains how Lamar Jackson’s status change came about
NBC’s Mike Florio had expressed similar sentiments about Lamar Jackson’s situation, calling it “the worst possible thing for the NFL” to have to deal with. However, he also had a possible explanation for it.
According to the league’s “Personnel (Injury) Report Policy,” a copy of which was furnished to PFT, a player will be considered a “full participant” in practice only if he has taken “100 percent” of his “normal repetitions”, which is usually taken to mean starter reps.
Any player who is assigned to the scout team for medical reasons in practice should be considered a “limited participant”, regardless of the degree of his participation there.
This initial statement by the Ravens did not explicitly mention that Jackson had practiced with the scout team. However, the change was prompted when Ian Rapoport said he had done so:
“Lamar Jackson was present for and participated fully in our entire practice ahead of Sunday’s game against the Bears. Upon further evaluation and after conferring with the league office, because Lamar didn’t take starter reps in practice, we updated our report to reflect his practice participation.”
Tyler Huntley, who had been signed to the active roster also on Friday, is now expected to start under center against the Bears. Kickoff for that game is at 1 pm ET on CBS.