Lamar Jackson Has A Realistic Chance To Return. The Practice Report Gets The Last Word.

Friends, I want to slow down on one word. At 8:29 this morning Adam Schefter posted: "Ravens QB Lamar Jackson has a realistic chance to return for Sunday’s game at Cleveland, per league source." Within the hour, fans were asking what a realistic chance even means.

Realistic is working a double shift this week, and the will-he-or-won't-he has four more days to run. As I type this Wednesday morning, the Ravens have not practiced, and nobody has reported whether Jackson will.

What Is Actually On The Record

Jackson has a sprained left ankle, per Jamison Hensley. He hurt it against Tennessee on Oct. 4 and did not play the second half, and Tyler Huntley finished a 24-18 win. Jackson then missed Sunday night's game in Atlanta, which Huntley won 30-23 in overtime.

Every report since Sunday morning has pointed one way. Before the Atlanta game, Rapoport reported a goal to return in Week 6, and @UnderdogNFL carried his line: "There’s several people involved in this situation that believe Lamar will be back next week."

On Monday, coach Jesse Minter said Jackson is "definitely doing better" and that the team will know more by midweek, per Hensley. Minter was not sure whether Jackson would practice Wednesday. This morning Mike Garafolo has him "inching back". I believe every one of those reports. None of them is a practice.

Last Week, Read In Order

Last Wednesday, Minter said Jackson could play without practicing. Jackson missed practice that day, and Thursday, and Friday. On Friday morning Hensley called a week without practice "usually a bad sign" and reminded readers what Minter had said. Jonas Shaffer noted that Jackson "missed his third straight day." About an hour later, Minter ruled him out, per Hensley.

Realistic chance is a source's read on the odds, and a coach saying a player could play without practicing is a forecast too. The practice report is the evidence. It arrives one day at a time, and each day gets a grade: did not practice, limited or full.

In my warehouse years, when a carrier swore a truck would realistically arrive Thursday, I believed him and scheduled the unloading crew after it backed up to the dock. My rule, and you may borrow it: start the practice report.

No adjective in football has ever had to plant on a sprained ankle.

The news is good, and I want that on the record. If Jackson plays, he is a big upgrade over whatever you would start in his place. Let the practice report confirm it.

If he is active, Chief, I start him too, and you may have that framed. But some leagues lock before anybody knows who is active, and in those the practice report is the only evidence you get in time.

The Ravens Have A Safety Net. Check Whether You Do.

Baltimore can afford patience with that ankle. Hensley wrote that Tyler Huntley "has now won three straight as the Ravens’ full-in starter." In Atlanta he went 13 of 14 after halftime, completed his final 10 passes for 79 yards and won it in overtime on a 1-yard sneak.

Before that game, Hensley posted: "Ravens are 6-11 when Lamar Jackson misses a start. But Tyler Huntley has won five of those six Lamar-less games." By our math, adding the Atlanta win to his count makes it six of seven. After the game, Minter called Huntley "one of the coolest dudes" per Hensley, and Kyle Hamilton said, per Shaffer, "When Snoop gets a chance to go out there, it's a Snoop game."

The Ravens have a backup they trust. Your fantasy roster may have Lamar Jackson and an empty bench spot, and that is the problem this week.

What I Am Doing About It

1. In redraft, I keep Jackson and add a backup quarterback now. Dropping him throws away the good news, and the time to find a second quarterback is before you need one.
2. I set the lineup by the practice report and check when my league locks. If he is a full participant late in the week, he starts. If he does not practice again, I believe it and play the backup. Anything in between, I decide with the backup already rostered.
3. In dynasty, nothing changes. One sprained ankle is no reason to sell, and anybody offering a discount is hoping you think it is.
4. Huntley is a real-life safety net and a superflex or 2QB dart at most. If Jackson plays, Huntley's fantasy value goes back on the shelf.
5. Ja'Kobi Lane goes on my watch list. Garafolo reports the rookie is expected back at practice four weeks after wrist surgery and "has a shot to play this weekend, per HC Jesse Minter." I will consider starting him once he has practiced and played.

A Disclosure From The Cleveland Side

The Ravens come to Cleveland on Sunday, and a Browns fan learns early to read the other team's injury report with dread. Hensley notes that when favored in Cleveland, as they are again, the Ravens are 11-3 outright since 2009. My father read me numbers like that the way other fathers read bedtime stories.

Our side has adjectives too. Coach Todd Monken says Carson Schwesinger and Quinshon Judkins are day-to-day, per @MaryKayCabot, and the same rule applies. If you roster Jackson and love the Browns, no Sunday outcome leaves you whole. Welcome, fellow sufferers.