John Harbaugh Provides Positive Update on Lamar Jackson After Return From Illness

After days of waiting, the Baltimore Ravens finally have their MVP back. Lamar Jackson returned to the Ravens training camp in Owing Mills on Saturday. The reigning MVP missed four of the first five practices earlier due to an undisclosed illness. In an honest press conference, Head Coach John Harbaugh detailed how the star QB performed on his return.

Harbaugh revealed Lamar did “really well” considering “he was coming back after being sick.” The veteran HC added that Lamar “looked good” and had a “lot of energy” while recapping his hard work to get back into shape. He explained,

“I know he worked really hard to get out here and worked really hard to make sure he was ready to put his best foot forward as best as he could. I thought he did, and even as the practice went on, you could see him kind of finding himself even more and more. So, I was really happy about it.”

https://t.co/8pugjBO88p John Harbaugh gets real on Lamar Jackson.

— NFL Tweets 2024 (@nfltweets2024) July 28, 2024

Lamar is coming back after a stellar season where he won his second MVP trophy, having passed for 3,678 yards and 24 touchdowns and rushed for 821 yards and five touchdowns in 16 starts. The fact that his stats are seemingly better than Patrick Mahomes details why the quarterback is a vital cog of the Ravens’ offensive system. So much so, the HC said that the Ravens are “determined to prove” he is the “best quarterback in football,” after his return to practice. 

Lamar’s return to practice was energizing for the team

During his first full practice of the training camp, Jackson led the offense down the field, culminating in a touchdown pass to Nelson Agholor. This clutch performance energized both his teammates and the fans, showing Jackson’s ability to perform under pressure despite having missed several practices due to illness.

This return marked a significant improvement compared to his previous one. After missing the first three days of camp due to illness, he rejoined the team on Wednesday but only managed to participate for an hour and left the field midway.

The Ravens open their preseason on August 9 against the Eagles. Interestingly, Jackson has not played in a preseason game since 2021. Even though Harbaugh didn’t shed light on Lamar’s availability, it is now expected that the Ravens will field their MVP quarterback in this game. And he has more than enough time to recover before the regular season game against the Chiefs.