BALTIMORE — Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s absence extended into Thursday, but there was some encouraging news with quarterback Tyler Huntley resuming throwing and running back Gus Edwards returning to practice.
With the Ravens poised to meet the Cincinnati Bengals in Sunday night’s AFC wild-card playoff round, it’s looking increasingly likely that they will be without their starting quarterback, who was absent from the portion of practice open to the media. Thursday would mark the 17th straight practice Jackson has missed since he suffered an injury to the posterior collateral ligament in his left knee on the final play in the first quarter of an eventual 10-9 win against the Denver Broncos on Dec. 4. He’s missed the past five games.
Huntley, Jackson’s backup, was present Thursday, but unlike Wednesday, he threw the ball and was active during drills. Tendonitis in his right throwing shoulder and issues with his right wrist had limited him in last week’s practices and during Wednesday’s session, and those ailments played a factor in the team’s decision to keep him out of Sunday’s 27-16 loss in Cincinnati and instead turn to undrafted rookie Anthony Brown.
In his first career start, Brown completed 19 of 44 passes for 286 yards, but was sacked four times, intercepted twice, and lost a fumble that defensive end Joseph Ossai recovered in the end zone to give the Bengals an insurmountable 24-7 advantage just before halftime.
Edwards was removed from Sunday’s game after carrying the ball on the final play of the first quarter and did not return after being placed in the league’s concussion protocol. On Thursday, he wore a red non-contact jersey and a Guardian cap on his helmet, but it remains to be seen whether he has been cleared from the protocol.
Cornerback Brandon Stephens (illness) and long-snapper Nick Moore (illness) were missing Thursday after being held out of Wednesday’s session. Joining their absence was interior offensive lineman Trystan Colon.
Starting cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey (shoulder) and Marcus Peters (calf) participated Thursday after being limited Wednesday. Peters sat out the final three games of the regular season.
Five starters — outside linebackers Justin Houston and Jason Pierre-Paul, defensive end Calais Campbell, left guard Ben Powers and left tackle Ronnie Stanley — returned Thursday after getting rest days on Wednesday.
