Ravens' Lamar Jackson Moving Past Illness

After missing most of the first week of training camp, Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson is now back to full strength.

Jul 27, 2024; Owings Mill , MD, USA; Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) lthrows during the afternoon session of training camp at the Under Armour Performance Center, Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

To the delight of Baltimore Ravens fans everywhere, star quarterback Lamar Jackson made his grand return to the field Saturday after a bout with illness, and is finally back to feeling like his usual self.

"[I'm] feeling wonderful man," Jackson told reporters Monday. "[It's] good to be back; back out with my guys; back out with the coaching staff – [it's] good to be back in August man, [it's] football season."

This is far from the first time Jackson has dealt with illness, as the two-time MVP has missed at least one practice in each of his seven NFL seasons. He was hospitalized for three days ahead of his first start in 2018, and went on to miss one practice in 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023, along with three in 2021. His health was never much of a problem in college, and he's still not really sure what's behind his constant battles with sickness.

"I think that sometimes, because [when I was in college] in Louisville, I never got sick," Jackson said. "I never was sick. But it comes and goes."

Luckily, neither Jackson nor the Ravens' medical staff believes he has a chronic illness.

"With all of our players, [and] with all of our employees ... I get these physicals every year, they do a great job," head coach John Harbaugh said. "When they stop giving me my physical every year, I'm going to start worrying." (laughter) "It's like, 'Don't you care anymore?' So, Lamar [Jackson] gets tested, Mark [Andrews] gets tested, all of our guys get tested thoroughly, especially when you're sick, so they look at every possibility."

Jackson is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL when healthy, but that's been easier said than done sometimes. He missed the final five games of the season in both 2021 and 2022 with injury, as well as other minor injuries over the years. Last year, though, he was fully healthy for the first time in years, and he put together the best passing season of his career en route to his second MVP.

As Jackson and the Ravens continue their quest for a Super Bowl, the star quarterback's health will be nothing short of paramount to their success.

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