Guess what! Ravens QB Lamar Jackson is sidelined yet again. But this time, the injury seems to be a mysterious one. After making a short comeback in training camps on Wednesday, Lamar participated only for an hour. For the Ravens, this was their fifth training camp without the league’s reigning MVP. Before making his way out of the field, Lamar completed one pass in team drills and threw one interception. Later on, medical and training staff members accompanied the QB back to the locker room.

It seems like Lamar wasn’t fully healed as he looked neither comfortable nor energetic; instead, he had a weary face. Speaking to the media, head coach John Harbaugh later said, “He was just not feeling up to it terms of all different things. You got hydration, and there’s an energy-level thing. It’s part of being sick.” Shortly after, the team’s official X handle provided an update on Lamar’s situation, which read, “He continues to undergo further evaluation and receive care from our medical team.”

Everyone around the Ravens camp hoped that Jackson would be feeling much better after his off day. But that was not the case; instead, the team had to continue without their star player. Opening up on Lamar’s supposedly mysterious illness, an NFL doctor, MD Jesse Morse, shared his insight by posting on X. There, he talked about how Lamar is going through non-musculoskeletal issues, implying, “My guess is it’s his gut. It’s always the gut.”

MD Jesse Morse also suggested changes in diet and supplements when asked about the solution by someone in his comment section. However, this wasn’t the first time Lamar had experienced these symptoms. Last week, during training, the doctors found Lamar going through similar issues, thereby sending him home the next day. On the back of those recurring illnesses, the QB was missing from the Under Armour Performance Center on Monday and Tuesday. And his eventual return on Wednesday didn’t bear any fruits.

One player who has caught the eye at the Ravens camp while Lamar slowly returns to the team is Marlon Humphrey. The Ravens CB picked off Lamar three times during this year’s training camp. While intercepting a pass and again catching Jackson off-guard on an errant throw. Looks like, for Harbaugh, this might be both good and bad news as Humphrey is back in form but Jackson is still facing issues with training.

Players who can step up in Lamar Jackson’s absence

The Ravens have their first pre-season game coming up against the Eagles on August 9th. Although Jackson would probably stay absent. It was all but confirmed after Jackson’s mysterious illness took him down on Wednesday. Interestingly, Harbaugh hasn’t really played Lamar during the last two pre-seasons. Him racking up only six snaps over the course of three years says everything.

Meanwhile, veteran QB, Josh Johnson, was seen padding up and running the first-team offense. It looks like Johnson would play the role of an immediate backup in the quarterback position before Jackson’s eventual return. Besides Johnson, the Ravens also have Devin Leary, a rookie drafted from Kentucky Wildcats, and Emory Jones, who just finished his college career. But neither of them are ready to handle the NFL yet.

Nevertheless, Jackson remains a big miss in the Ravens’ offense if you look back at his contributions. Last season, Jackson threw a record 3,678 yards, 24 touchdown passes, 7 interceptions, and 821 rushing yards. Racking up such impressive numbers saw him being crowned the NFL MVP for the second time in his football career. Keeping aside the individual honors, Jackson was phenomenal in guiding the Ravens to their AFC North title. While securing a ticket to the AFC championship after a 12-year drought. Lamar Jackson’s return will be crucial to the Ravens’ dream of claiming the Super Bowl title from reigning champions Kansas City Chiefs.