Ravens penalized $100K for mishandling Lamar Jackson’s injury

Ravens Fined Over Lamar Jackson’s Injury Report Issue

The Baltimore Ravens faced a $100,000 fine following a controversy related to Lamar Jackson’s injury report in Week 8.

The NFL found that the team breached its policies by listing Jackson as a “full participant” in practice, despite him actually functioning as a scout team player that day.

Officials noted that while the violation was considered “negligent,” it did not seem intended to yield any competitive edge. This information comes from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Interestingly, Schefter also mentioned that, had the violation been deemed intentional, the Ravens could have potentially faced losing a draft pick.

In a statement, the Ravens acknowledged their mistake and emphasized their commitment to integrity and adhering to NFL guidelines: “We made a clear error in reporting player injuries and cooperated transparently with the league’s investigation,” they said. “We accept the NFL’s determination that we violated policy and have taken steps to ensure continued compliance.”

Jackson, who had missed the previous two games due to a hamstring issue, seemed on track to return for the match against the Bears. However, the team had inaccurately listed him as a full participant in practice on Friday.

The next day, his Friday practice status was retroactively modified from “full” to “limited,” and he unexpectedly sat out the game, which the Ravens won 30-16 with Tyler Huntley at quarterback.

On Saturday, the Ravens released a statement indicating that Jackson had “attended the game and fully participated.” They explained that although he led Friday’s practice, the role he took with the reserve players prompted the report change.

The NFL’s injury reporting rules dictate that a player who is typically a starter must be marked as “restricted” if they are joining the scout team due to an injury.