Source: Jackson set to start; no Flacco surgery

7:02 pm | November 17, 2018 | Go to Source | Author:

11:45 PM ET

BALTIMORE — Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not expected to play Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter, leaving first-round draft pick Lamar Jackson as the team’s expected starting quarterback.

It would be Jackson’s first NFL start, giving Baltimore a chance to observe the player it drafted to be the team’s quarterback of the future.

Flacco, listed as doubtful on the injury report, will not require surgery on his injured hip, a source told Schefter. He could miss the Ravens’ game next Sunday at home against the Raiders as well, according to the source, but is not expected to miss much time beyond that.

With Jackson as the expected starter, Robert Griffin III would be the backup quarterback against the Bengals.

Jackson’s first NFL start comes after a surprise-filled stretch of days in which the Ravens saw Flacco walking on crutches for a hip injury and sent Jackson to the hospital after he suffered stomach issues.

The first twist in the Ravens’ quarterback drama came at the end of last week, when it was revealed that Flacco’s status was uncertain because of a hip injury he suffered in a Nov. 4 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The next unexpected turn occurred Thursday when the team learned of Jackson’s illness just before the start of practice and took him to a hospital for precautionary reasons. That left Griffin, the only healthy quarterback on the roster, to handle all the reps at practice.

The change at quarterback represents a drastic shift for the Ravens, who go from one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the NFL to the youngest starting quarterback in franchise history. Jackson, 21, becomes Baltimore’s first rookie starting quarterback since 2008, when Flacco coincidentally jumped to the top of the depth chart because of injuries to Kyle Boller and Troy Smith.

Jackson, who has been used in specialty packages, gets his first extended action against a Bengals defense that has been historically bad. Cincinnati is the first defense to allow over 500 yards in consecutive games in the Super Bowl era.

Entering Sunday’s game, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he has seen “tremendous development” in Jackson.

“He’s working every day, right through training camp, right through the season, at practice, and then extra after practice, meetings,” Harbaugh said. “[He’s a] very diligent, very smart, very aware quarterback. He sees the game well, and then now all the process that goes into just training that eye has been valuable. So, we have seen improvement, and in practice, he looks good.”

In this year’s draft, the Ravens traded back into the first round to select Jackson, the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner. Jackson became the the only player in FBS history to rush for at least 1,500 yards and pass for at least 3,500 yards in a season. And Jackson accomplished this feat twice (in 2016 and 2017).

He went 22-11 as a starting quarterback at Louisville and was a touchdown machine. He reached the end zone 119 times (a school record), running for 50 and throwing for 69.