Lamar Jackson Absent Again At Ravens Practice; Will QB Play vs. Browns?

Lamar Jackson was absent again at practice during the portion open to reporters Wednesday, as the Baltimore Ravens superstar deals with an ankle injury that has already caused him to miss one game.

Coach Jesse Minter said Monday that Jackson was "definitely doing better," though he wasn’t sure how the quarterback’s practice would look Wednesday. "To Lamar’s credit, he’s doing everything he can to get back out there," Minter said. ESPN reported Wednesday that Jackson has a "realistic chance" to play Sunday, citing a league source.

Jackson was injured two weeks ago in a victory over the Tennessee Titans. The Ravens were able to win on the road last week against the Atlanta Falcons with Tyler Huntley at quarterback. They play on the road against the Cleveland Browns this coming Sunday.

Jackson was sacked on the final play of the first half of the Ravens' 24-18 win over the Titans when defensive end Jermaine Johnson landed on the back of his leg. He had completed 15 of 20 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns before the injury and didn’t return. Jackson has a sprained left ankle, according to NFL Media.

Huntley finished the Tennessee game, then completed 24 of 32 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns against the Falcons. He scored the winning touchdown on a 1-yard run in overtime of the 30-23 victory.

Baltimore (4-1) has some margin for error after a solid start. That’s in contrast to last season, when Jackson was hurt early on and didn’t come back until the team was 2-5. He rarely looked great after that, so there’s some risk in bringing him back too soon.

Jackson hurt his hamstring in a Week 4 loss at the Kansas City Chiefs last season and missed three games. He returned with four touchdown passes in a 28-6 win at the Miami Dolphins, but over his first eight weeks back, he completed 59.8% of his passes with eight touchdowns and five interceptions while averaging 21.8 rushing yards per game.

Huntley has won all three of his starts for the Ravens since the beginning of last season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.