OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was a full participant in his return to practice Thursday, making a strong step toward starting Sunday on the road against the Cleveland Browns.
Jackson, a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, missed Wednesday’s practice because of knee soreness. But Jackson was back on the field a day later and moved well, practicing in full.
“It’s getting better,” Jackson said after Thursday’s practice.
At the start of Thursday’s practice, Jackson jogged onto the field without a limp. In between taking first-team snaps, Jackson ran from drill to drill.
Jackson injured his knee during Sunday’s 27-19 road win against the Minnesota Vikings, who landed multiple blows on the quarterback. He was hit 11 times by the Vikings, including one that resulted in a roughing the passer penalty on pass rusher Dallas Turner.
Asked if he expects defenses to blitz him more when teams know he’s dealing with an injury, Jackson replied, “That’s cool with me. We’re going to see.”
The Ravens hope to end their recent slide at Cleveland, where they have lost three of their past four trips there. Baltimore (4-5) is one game back of the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4) in the AFC North.
The Ravens are 3-2 in the five games that Jackson has started and finished this season, averaging 33.2 points per game. In the other four games Jackson has missed time because of a hamstring injury, Baltimore is 1-3 and was limited to 15.8 points per game.
This season, Jackson ranks fourth in the NFL with a 73.2 Total QBR, throwing 15 touchdown passes and one interception.
In describing how Jackson looked in practice, Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken gave a one-word response: “Great.”
