Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Monday he hasn’t decided whether to sit quarterback Lamar Jackson, the heavy favorite for NFL MVP, against the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday.
The Steelers (9-7) are fighting for postseason berth going into the regular-season finale, while the Ravens (13-3) already have clinched the AFC North title and the top seed in the AFC playoffs, including a first-round bye
I have not made a decision on any personnel yet,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve got to kind of work through the injury part of it first, and that will take us probably 24 or 48 hours to get a real handle on that. Then we’ll make those decisions. We’re not going to keep it a secret. We’ll let you know what we’re going to do once we start practicing (Wednesday).”
If Jackson does rest, with backup Tyler Huntley the likely starter, he would not play until the Ravens’ next game Jan. 20 or 21. The Ravens faced this scenario at the end of the 2019 regular season and rested seven starters, including Jackson.
Harbaugh is aware of what happened after, as the Tennessee Titans knocked off the top-seeded Ravens in the divisional round, 28-12. Jackson threw the ball a lot, going 31 of 59 for 356 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
It’s a different team, different circumstances, different everything except for the record was about the same and the bye,” Harbaugh said. “I remember the experience and the choices we made (in 2019), but the decisions we made, we made for certain reasons. We thought they were the right decisions.”
While Baltimore would like to rest some players recovering from injuries, Harbaugh said he doesn’t have the flexibility of a 90-man preseason roster during the regular season, which consists of a 53-man roster.
“It’s not like the preseason when you have a bunch of guys,” Harbaugh said. “The team we put out there is going to do everything we can to win the game, play our best football game of the season and win the game against a very tough opponent.”
Among the Ravens of note, cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey (calf) and Daryl Worley (stinger) and defensive tackle Michael Pierce (stinger) came out of Sunday’s win over the Dolphins. Safety Kyle Hamilton (knee), starting cornerback Brandon Stephens (ankle) and starting right guard Kevin Zeitler (knee/quad) were inactive.
Harbaugh said it’s too early to comment on any of these players’ availability for the postseason.
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