Baltimore Ravens head coach Jesse Minter gave an injury update on Lamar Jackson and his thumb injury. According to Minter, injuries like the one Jackson suffered and require surgery usually take 6-10 weeks to heal.
But as ESPN's Adam Schefter has reported, Jackson had already undergone thumb surgery last week. That means if Jackson meets the lower end of Minter's specified timeline, he would still be able to return later this season.
Jackson suffered the thumb injury in the very first snap of their 36-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Nov. 1. That was his first game back after missing a month due to a hamstring injury.
The Ravens, who were 3-1 with Jackson as the starter in their first four games, have fallen off a cliff since, going 1-4 without him. His backup, Tyler Huntley, has gone down with a season-ending toe injury. Jacoby Brissett, whom they acquired from the Arizona Cardinals before the trade deadline, is set to make his first start for the team in Week 10 against the winless Los Angeles Chargers.
At this point, it's unclear whether it would be worth it for the Ravens to bring Jackson back even if he were fully recovered from his thumb injury. It would depend largely on where the Ravens stand by then. They have a relatively easy schedule coming up as their next four games will be against the Chargers, Panthers, Texans and Buccaneers, who are all currently under .500.
If Brissett can keep them within playoff contention, perhaps it would be justifiable to bring Jackson back. But even then, it would take something special for Jackson and the Ravens to transform into serious title contenders given their struggles this season.