Lamar Jackson Has Told Ravens Teammates He Plans to Return This Season

Lamar Jackson doesn't think his season is over. The Ravens quarterback has told teammates he plans to return later this year, and his message to the locker room has been "just stay alive," NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Sunday.

According to Rapoport, Jackson started delivering that message within 24 hours of the injury, and teammates who heard it described it as "energizing" and "exciting." Before that, teammates had feared his season was over.

Jackson is having surgery to repair a fractured and dislocated right thumb. The typical recovery is at least six weeks and could stretch to nine. Baltimore placed him on injured reserve, but he hasn't been ruled out for the year. If the timeline holds and the rehab goes well, he could be back around early January, which would put him in range for the stretch run: a Week 16 game against the Browns on Dec. 27, a Thursday night trip to Cincinnati four days later, and the Week 18 finale at home against the Steelers.

The catch is that there has to be something left to come back to. Jackson was hurt on Baltimore's first offensive snap against the Bills, in his first game back after missing three with a high ankle sprain. The Ravens have now lost four straight and are 4-5 after Thursday's 33-10 loss to the Jaguars, their fourth consecutive game held under 14 points. Tyler Huntley is expected to miss the rest of the season with a toe injury, and undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano started Thursday.

That's where the Jacoby Brissett trade comes in. Brissett is expected to start Nov. 16 against the Chargers, and his job is to keep Baltimore in the race long enough for Jackson's plan to matter. Along with Jackson's intent to return, the move signals the Ravens aren't treating this season as lost ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline.