Mike Vick believes Lamar Jackson should be on the field Sunday night at Paycor Stadium.
Jackson hasn’t practiced, let alone played in a game, since he injured his knee in the Ravens’ Dec. 4 win over the Denver Broncos. That trend will continue in the wild-card round, as the star quarterback will watch from the sideline as Tyler Huntley and/or Anthony Brown quarterback Baltimore against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The 2019 NFL MVP revealed the extent of the injury in the lead-up to the playoff matchup, explaining his knee still is unstable after suffering a PCL Grade 2 sprain. Vick, however, believes Jackson should play through the pain now that the stakes are raised.
“It’s the playoffs, you’re three games away,” Vick said Saturday on FOX. “Put a brace on it. Get it going. Put a brace on it, let’s go. … I played a whole season with a sprained MCL.”
This is pretty reckless advice from Vick, and his point about playing a whole season with a sprained MCL is pointless. Further damaging his injured knee could be career- and, quite frankly, life-altering for Jackson, who is set to hit free agency in March. Jeopardizing a monster payday would be foolish of Jackson, and the Ravens might feel the same if they plan on keeping the star signal-caller in Baltimore for years to come.
With Jackson out of action, the Ravens are an 8.5-point underdog for their primetime clash with the Bengals.
