Lamar Jackson Struggles With Illness In First Ravens Training Camp Appearance

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson exited his first training camp appearance early after struggling to play through an illness. Jackson played poorly in offensive drills and wearily staggered off the field after an hour. He did not return.

“We are going to work him back in, for sure,” Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken said. “I know I’m being kind of a smartass. You’ll have to ask him how he feels. But he was great in meetings. When we were on the field at the start, he said he was feeling good.”

Jackson has battled illnesses on several occasions throughout his NFL career, and team staff claimed that his absence did not adversely affect the team, which has been practicing without him since Monday.

In the time Jackson spent on the field, he reportedly had issues with accuracy and was intercepted by Ravens defender Marlon Humphrey. He split snaps with backup quarterback Josh Johnson when he was present on the field.

In 2023, his sixth NFL season, Jackson threw for 3,678 yards and 24 touchdowns in the regular season while also rushing for 821 yards and five touchdowns. After a 13-4 season and second MVP award, Jackson led the Ravens to the AFC Championship game before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs.

In May, Jackson claimed that the loss to Kansas City wouldn’t be forgotten any time soon.

“I believe that just motivated us throughout the whole offseason,” Jackson said. “People (are) still talking about it, us players still talk about it. It definitely left a bitter taste in our mouth just being that close. We worked so hard to get there and didn’t do what we wanted to do, didn’t fulfill our dream. Definitely a little chip on our shoulder.”

Jackson signed a five-year, $260 million contract extension with Baltimore last summer, which will keep him under center for the AFC powerhouse for the foreseeable future.