Lamar Jackson did not practice Wednesday or Thursday as the Baltimore Ravens prepared for Sunday night’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, leaving his availability firmly in doubt for a primetime matchup that has already reshaped the betting market. The two-time MVP is managing a sprained ankle suffered in the second quarter of Baltimore’s Week 4 win over the Tennessee Titans, and head coach Jesse Minter has stopped short of ruling him out while declining to offer any real optimism either.
Jackson’s absence would mark a significant swing for a Ravens team that has been one of the league’s most dangerous offenses when he is healthy. Baltimore enters Week 5 at 3-1, with Jackson’s dual-threat ability serving as the engine behind that start. Without him, the job falls to Tyler “Snoop” Huntley, who took over after Jackson exited the Titans game and finished that contest completing 8 of 9 passes for just 63 yards in a deliberately conservative script.
Two Call Sheets, One Decision Still Pending
Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle confirmed this week that he is preparing entirely separate game plans depending on which quarterback takes the field Sunday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. “You have to have this avenue of, if Snoop’s going, this is the way I wanna call it, this is the direction I wanna go,” Doyle said Thursday, according to The Baltimore Sun. “And yet, if L’s going…” Doyle has used this dual-script approach before, most notably building two full call sheets around whether receiver Zay Flowers would be available for a game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Minter indicated Jackson does not necessarily need a full practice session to play, noting the quarterback is receiving extensive treatment and could still suit up with little to no on-field work this week. But league sources have described the ankle sprain as a “rarer type” of injury that carries some risk of a multi-week absence, and Minter’s own comments have grown less optimistic as the week has progressed. Friday’s practice participation is widely viewed as the swing factor: if Jackson can’t go through a session in some capacity by Friday, it becomes very likely he sits out against Atlanta.
If Huntley gets the start, it would be the fifth different season in which he has stepped in for an injured or rested Jackson, dating back to 2021. He went 2-0 as a starter for Baltimore in 2025 and carries a 5-6 career record as the Ravens’ QB1. Doyle has praised Huntley’s familiarity with the offense, saying the scheme “doesn’t have to change significantly” with him under center, since his running ability and play-action game translate well even if the explosive upside is different without Jackson.
Betting Markets Already Pricing In a Huntley Start
Oddsmakers have moved aggressively on this game since Jackson’s injury became known, and the swing illustrates just how much value a single quarterback can represent. The Ravens opened as roughly 6-point road favorites over the Falcons. As Jackson’s absence first through Wednesday practice and then Thursday practice piled up, that line flipped entirely, with Atlanta moving to a 3-point favorite at several books by midweek — a swing of roughly 9 points tied almost entirely to one player’s ankle.
The total has also come down, dropping from an opening number near 48.5 to the low-to-mid 40s, reflecting the expectation that a Huntley-led Baltimore offense will lean more conservative and produce fewer explosive plays through the air. Caesars Sportsbook’s head of football trading put a specific figure on the gap, valuing Jackson at roughly 6 to 6.5 points on the spread relative to Huntley. Atlanta has also been catching sharp and public betting interest off its own two-game winning streak, adding momentum to the line move independent of Baltimore’s quarterback situation.
The uncertainty cuts both ways for bettors. Anyone waiting for clarity faces a shrinking window, since Friday’s practice report is expected to determine whether the number holds or moves again before kickoff. Historically, Baltimore has struggled on a straight-up basis without Jackson in the lineup, which helps explain why the market reacted as strongly as it did the moment his practice absences piled up. Barring a surprise appearance at Friday’s session, this Sunday night window now looks shaped more by Huntley’s track record as a fill-in starter than by anything Jackson himself can offer from the sideline.
