The Baltimore Ravens are facing some scrutiny after abruptly changing quarterback Lamar Jackson’s status on the official injury report they released Friday.
Jackson was listed as limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but was initially upgraded to a full participant in Friday’s practice. That implied that Jackson could be progressing toward playing Sunday against the Chicago Bears.
On Saturday, however, the Ravens announced that Jackson had actually been limited on Friday, and ruled him out for Sunday’s game.
There has been an update to Lamar Jackson’s Friday practice and game status. Jackson was downgraded from a full practice participant to limited, and he has been ruled out for tomorrow’s game vs. Chicago.
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 25, 2025
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Jackson simply would not be ready to play Sunday, particularly with the Ravens facing a short week ahead of a Thursday night game. However, many were quick to wonder if the sudden change was related to the gambling scandal that shook the NBA on Thursday.
Bold move after the NBA gambling crackdown
— Depressed Bears Fan (@DepBearsFan) October 25, 2025
Some theorized that the Ravens had wanted to keep the Bears guessing about Jackson’s availability to make it harder for Chicago to prepare for the game. According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the Ravens genuinely believed they could list Jackson as a full participant because he had been present for the entire Friday practice. However, he only practiced with the scout team, not the first team.
Jones seemingly indicated that the Ravens simply made a genuine mistake, and that some within the organization thought as late as Saturday morning that Jackson would be available for Sunday’s game.
Whatever the reason, this is not the best look for the NFL right now. The NBA is in hot water after Terry Rozier allegedly faked an injury in a March 2023 game so prop bets on him would cash.
The Ravens had much better odds in betting markets when it was believed that Jackson still had a chance to play against the Bears, so this news definitely changed some things. Even if nothing nefarious is going on, the Ravens might have some explaining to do.
