What happened: Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was downgraded from questionable to out on Saturday for Sunday's game against the Bengals, per the team and James Palmer. Jackson logged a limited practice session on Friday as the Ravens waited through the week to evaluate whether he could return before ruling him out.

Why it matters: Palmer noted that Jackson's return to the practice field this week represents progress ahead of a demanding three-game stretch against two AFC playoff seeds and a prime-time divisional slate. Drafted 32nd overall out of Louisville in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Jackson completed 192 of 302 passes for 2,549 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions across 13 games in 2025, per ESPN (as of 2026-09-29).

What to watch: Following Sunday's contest against Cincinnati, attention shifts to Jackson's practice workload ahead of next week's road matchup at the Buffalo Bills. A short turnaround follows for a Thursday night game against the Jacksonville Jaguars before a Monday night meeting with the Los Angeles Chargers.