The minicamps have started but not with a bang for the Baltimore Ravens. There was one major piece missing from the Ravens Under Armour Performance Center; Lamar Jackson. The Ravens’ 2x MVP QB was sent home because he was not feeling well, and the Ravens didn’t want to take chances on their $260 million quarterback.

Well, someone has to be the QB, right? Who’s going to drop a dime in Lamar Jackson’s absence? Worry not, because the Baltimore team has more veterans and they’re perfectly good enough to fill in Jackson’s Lamarvelous shoes, at least for a little while. Enter Josh Johnson, who people like Rashod Bateman feel confident in.

“It’s definitely good to have Josh. He’s an overhead around here so he’s a good leader for us. He teaches us a lot when it comes to the game of football and he definitely leads us in the right direction so it’s good to have him out there,” said Rashod Bateman in a Ravens presser.

They’re dealing with it the only way they can; by the means of a veteran quarterback who comes with a bit of flair. Despite being tossed around the league throughout his career, people like Bateman relate to him and would go as far as to call him the team leader in Jackson’s absence. Good news is, the practice won’t come to a halt because the rookies Devin Leary and Emory Jones are doing their jobs by filling in the blanks too. But how did Johnson gain so much credibility around the Ravens offense?

He’s been around the league for a while now and it’s his 10 season in the NFL. He started with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2009, played three seasons (2009-2011) and then went on to play for the Bengals and Browns a season each. Something happened, and he took a 4-year hiatus from the league, but finally returned to play as the staring QB for Washington in 2018.

“This is like going to Disneyland every day for me, for real, because just a week ago, I was at home in the hood, chilling with the kids, chilling with my family and thinking on the couch that I might never play in the NFL again,” said Johnson in a 2018 interview and added, “But a week later, look at me now, I’m here starting with a great opportunity to get us a victory this Sunday against Jacksonville.”

He again took a 2-year absence from the league and returned in 2021 to play as for the Jets and got transferred to the Ravens in the same year. However, luck wasn’t on his side still as the Ravens would pass him to the 49ers as Brock Purdy’s back up. Now, he’s returned to Ravens once again to fill in for Lamar Jackson.

Speaking of Lamar Jackson, him missing the first day of the mandatory training camp has garnered a lot of attention, and not in a good way.

The internet made Lamar Jackson a laughingstock

Well, the keyboard warriors will find any and everything against players and use it against them. However, the jabs against Lamar Jackson were humorous and not personal at all. After Adam Schefter’s post on X about Jackson missing the camp went viral. It was time for the internet trolls to get to work. People might find moments of fun in Lamar Jackson’s plight, but an NFL Insider that goes by the name of Josina Anderson did point out that the 2x MVP’s illness looked “pretty bad.”

Schefter’s post on X read, “Ravens QB Lamar Jackson was sent home from practice today due to an illness.” Apparently, Lamar Jackson’s immune system has been a focal point of jokes for a long time. A person on Schefter’s post commented, “Dude got the immune system of a 5yr old,” and that, “This dude always sick start washing your hands bro.”

Well, this is not the first time that Jackson is bothered by an illness during the practice. Apparently, it was in December last year when Jackson’s unidentified illness bothered him. Ian Rapoport, posted on X in December 2023, saying, “#Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, who was not spotted during the media portion of practice, is dealing with an illness.”

It was before the game against the Los Angeles Rams when the 2x MVP ran into some physical issues. Jackson’s illness back in December caused as much noise as it is causing right now. Apparently, the QB has been showing the same pattern from the past two seasons or so. But little health scares don’t mean anything. We know Lamar will pull up when it matters the most.

There’s no known root cause of his illness, so your guess is as good as ours. But for what it’s worth, we hope that the sickness is not serious, and Jackson starts reporting to the Ravens training facility in no time. If not, the internet might troll him so much that he might be forced to return on the field.