
Jackson was listed as a full practice participant on the Ravens’ Friday injury report heading into their Week 8 game against the Bears. Patrick Smith / Getty Images
The NFL disciplined the Baltimore Ravens for their handling of quarterback Lamar Jackson’s practice participation and injury designation last week, fining the organization $100,000, the league said in a statement Friday.
According to a league source, the violation was the result of negligence and not an attempt to gain a competitive advantage. If the investigation had determined the viola…

Jackson was listed as a full practice participant on the Ravens’ Friday injury report heading into their Week 8 game against the Bears. Patrick Smith / Getty Images
The NFL disciplined the Baltimore Ravens for their handling of quarterback Lamar Jackson’s practice participation and injury designation last week, fining the organization $100,000, the league said in a statement Friday.
According to a league source, the violation was the result of negligence and not an attempt to gain a competitive advantage. If the investigation had determined the violation was intentional or competitive in nature, the discipline would have been more significant, including the potential loss of draft picks. The club cooperated fully with the investigation.
However, the decision from the league does rebuke what Ravens coach John Harbaugh described as an “honest mistake” and reinforces the significance the league places on proper reporting and designating of injuries.
Statement from the Baltimore Ravens. pic.twitter.com/rCazoXRm5I
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 31, 2025
The Ravens listed Jackson, the two-time league MVP who had missed the previous two games with a right hamstring strain, as a full participant in practice on Friday, two days before Baltimore was to host the Chicago Bears in a Week 8 matchup. Jackson was given a questionable designation to play in the game.
Yet, the following day — and after an NFL Network report revealed Jackson ran the scout team in Friday’s practice — the Ravens downgraded their quarterback’s participation to limited and ruled him out for the Bears game.
They later released a statement saying that Jackson fully participated in the practice, but “upon further evaluation and after conferring with the league office, because Lamar didn’t take starter reps in practice, we updated our report to reflect his practice participation.”
Per injury report rules, “A player who participates in individual drills, but for medical reasons does not take his normal repetitions during the team portion of practice and is assigned to the scout team should be listed as ‘Limited Participation.’ Participation on the scout team, no matter how extensive, by a player whose normal repetitions would be with the starters but for his medical condition, would not alter the player’s proper designation as ‘Limited Participation.’”
A day after the statement, Harbaugh maintained that he wasn’t involved or aware of “those rules” with the injury report.
“I think they felt like, because he did the same number of reps, it was a full practice. But when you dig in and you read the rule, at the end of the day, it wasn’t right,” he said. “So, that’s what it was. That’s why, as soon as we found out, we changed it.”
Asked who was “they,” Harbaugh said that the injury designations were provided by the training/medical staff in connection with the team’s public relations department.
“It really is an honest mistake,” he said. “I can tell you this: nobody is trying to hide anything. There’s no advantage to be gained with that. He practiced, his status was what it was.”
Per an NFL spokesperson, the league reviews all matters involving a change to a player’s status. It didn’t take long for the NFL to release its discipline for the Ravens.
The gaffe was particularly ill-timed for the Ravens. It came during a week where the NBA found itself embroiled in one of the biggest betting scandals to hit the sports world in many years. The Ravens went from a one-touchdown favorite to a 2-point favorite not long after Jackson’s game status changed.
The Ravens beat the Bears 30-16, with backup Tyler Huntley throwing for 186 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 53 yards. The win was just the Ravens’ fifth in 17 games without Jackson since he became their starter.
Jackson started Thursday against the Miami Dolphins, his first game action since he strained his hamstring in the second half of Baltimore’s Sept. 28 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Ravens won in a blowout 28-6, with Jackson completing 18 of 23 passes for 204 yards and four touchdown passes.
Oct 31, 2025
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