Lamar Jackson dealing with “extreme swelling,” unlikely to play vs. Bengals

The Baltimore Ravens may be without their franchise QB for the sixth straight game, when they take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card round on Sunday Night Football. While there was hope he’d be ready for the playoffs, it seems his injury just isn’t going away.

The issue with his knee at this point is described as “extreme swelling,” which has made him “pretty limited” at practice.

It will thus be a “surprise” if he’s able to practice in time.

But, despite speculation, the tweet from Jordan Schultz above makes clear that Jackson is not trying to gain (or avoid losing) leverage for his upcoming contract, wherever he chooses to sign.

Nor is there indication here’s protesting Baltimore’s management team, which just gave a $100 million contract to linebacker Roquan Smith, as Jackson tweeted this shortly after the deal was done:

Rather, it’s just one of those unfortunate situations. Regardless, Bengals defensive coordinator is preparing as if Jackson will be in there.

For what it’s worth, the DraftKings Sportsbook spread for this game opened as Bengals -5.5. It’s now grown to Bengals -7.5, so it seems the oddsmakers also believe there’s a very real, if not likely, chance that Jackson doesn’t play this week.

For a detailed analysis of Jackson and his backup, Tyler Huntley, as well as a preview of the game, watch below:

You can also listen on iTunes or using the player below:

So what do you think?