The Ravens’ decision not to play injured star quarterback Lamar Jackson in their wild-card game against the Bengals drew some criticism over the weekend, but one prominent NFL analyst says it absolutely was the correct move.
Former NFL quarterback Mike Vick was among Jackson’s loudest critics, as the Fox analyst said Jackson should have tried to play through his knee injury.
“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.”
On Sunday night, another former quarterback fiercely defended the decision not to play Jackson. Robert Griffin III, who competed in a playoff game with a knee injury in January 2013, believes Jackson and the Ravens made the right call.
“Played with no ACL and LCL for my brothers/team. Changed the trajectory of my career. Hindsight is 20/20,” Griffin wrote on twitter. “I didn’t have the luxury of that. Lamar does. He is DOING THE RIGHT THING.”
Before further injuring his knee in that playoff game, Griffin was 9-6 with Washington, while making the Pro Bowl and winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. After the injury, he went just 5-15 with Washington over the next three years. The team released him in 2016, and he went on to make unmemorable career stops with the Browns and Ravens.
Jackson is set to hit free agency this offseason, which means he had more on the line with his knee injury than just a playoff game. The quarterback revealed last week that he has a grade 2 PCL strain that is close to becoming a grade 3, and he didn’t want to play if he wasn’t 100%.
Baltimore ended the season 2-4 without Jackson, culminating in Sunday’s 24-17 loss to Cincinnati with Tyler Huntley taking the snaps.
