OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Lamar Jackson will not play in Baltimore’s final regular-season game against the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend, coach John Harbaugh announced Wednesday.
Harbaugh said Tyler Huntley will start for the Ravens, who have already clinched the AFC’s top seed. Josh Johnson will be Huntley’s backup.
“I’m fine with that. Me and the coaches talked about it,” Jackson said. “I felt it was best for me to sit.”
The announcement came as no surprise after Baltimore’s first-round bye in the postseason. Jackson missed the end of the 2021 season and the 2022 season due to injury, but has started all 16 games so far this season.
Huntley has started eight games in his pro career and has started four games in each of the past two seasons with the Ravens.
This will be the sixth game Jackson has missed against the Steelers since becoming a full-time starter in 2019 due to various circumstances. He also did not play in the final regular season game against the Steelers in 2019, when the Ravens already had a bye. Jackson was asked if he had any extra motivation to play against the Steelers, who need a win to have a chance at making the playoffs.
“I believe Snoop will get the job done,” Jackson said of Huntley. “We have guys that can go out there and throw the ball.”
— From Mirror, Wire Report