The Ravens ruled out Lamar Jackson for his team’s wild-card matchup against the Bengals on Sunday night, and with it being his sixth straight game sidelined, fans have grown restless and have argued that he should play through the pain in the do or die contest. You can add Michael Vick to that list.
While appearing on Fox’s pregame show, the former NFL quarterback suggested that Jackson play through the knee injury and just put a brace on it, drawing from his own experience.
“You’re three games away [from the Super Bowl]. Put a brace on it,” Vick said. “Get it going. Put a brace on it, let’s go. I played a whole season on a sprained MCL.”
Afterwards, Charles Woodson and Sean Payton made it clear that they’re not sure about the extent of his injury. Before Baltimore officially ruled him out, Jackson took to Twitter to be transparent about the injury.
“Thank you everyone for your support and concerns regarding my injuries,” Jackson’s tweet read. “I want to give you all an update as I am in the recovery process. I’ve suffered a PCL grade 2 sprain on the borderline of a strain 3. There is still inflammation surrounding my knee and my knee remains unstable. I’m still in good spirits, as I continue with treatments on the road to recovery. I wish I could be out there with my guys more than anything but I can’t give a 100% of myself to my guys and fans I’m still hopeful we still have a chance.”
He has also been criticized because it is being speculated that Jackson isn’t playing because of his upcoming free agency. Both he and the Ravens couldn’t agree on an extension this past offseason, and some think he is choosing to take care of his body instead of play for a Super Bowl right now.
