Ravens' Jesse Minter Offers Vague Answer on Lamar Jackson Surgery

The Baltimore Ravens will be without quarterback Lamar Jackson for six to 10 weeks, as the organization made an official statement on the passer's injury and return timeline.

It was confirmed that Jackson suffered a dislocated and fractured thumb in Week 8 against the Buffalo Bills, but what has not been confirmed is when the surgery took place. During media availability on Saturday, head coach Jesse Minter did not confirm any new details.

Minter has been adamant about not sharing details regarding the injury that Jackson sustained, and he previously did not confirm the details of what occurred. It took the statement released by the Ravens to fully detail what happened. 

New reports indicated that Jackson underwent the surgery prior to being placed on IR, which occurred on Nov. 5. However, Minter has once again not confirmed those details.

When Minter was asked about confirmation that Jackson underwent surgery ahead of the team's Week 9 matchup, he dodged the question in his usual fashion.

"The surgery happened, and the timeline is the timeline," Minter said with a smile.

It does make a bit of sense that Minter has not been forthcoming about the injury and timeline, as his speaking about what is not concrete could come back to haunt him. 

If Jackson did get the surgery ahead of Week 9, he would presumably be able to return in Week 15 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, in a best-case scenario. However, 10 weeks would put Jackson's return in Week 18, when the Ravens play the Steelers again to close out the regular season.

Baltimore may not want to speak about Jackson returning at some point this season, because this is a chance that it may not happen. Getting surgery on a hand is detrimental to quarterbacks, and it could hold back the quarterback from returning.

Also, the Ravens need to win some games to even consider bringing Jackson back into the fold.

Jacoby Brissett is set to take over, and he will get his Ravens debut on Monday against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Ravens currently sit at 4-5, and they are only a few losses away from likely not making the playoffs. Finishing the season with a 9-8 record might all but doom their chances of getting into the postseason.

The usual case is that teams that are 10-7 even have a hard time securing a Wild Card spot, and there are many talented AFC teams that will be gunning for those spots. 

Baltimore needs to have a clear-cut opportunity at that 10-7 record for the team to consider bringing Jackson back in the regular season or for the playoffs. 

If the Ravens are in a good spot with their record come Week 15, and Jackson is ready, it would make perfect sense for him to return. That would also be the case if the team has a favorable record and Jackson needs a bit longer into the end of the season to play again. 

Either way, Jackson returning is still a possibility.