Is Lamar Jackson Playing Today? UPDATED

Lamar Jackson is not expected to play for the Ravens today as he continues to recover from a non-COVID sickness. What follows is the original report written this morning.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson is as important to his team's success as any player in the NFL. That's why Baltimore fans are sweating this morning following the news yesterday that Jackson was added back to the injury report and is questionable for today's game against the Bears. He's dealing with a non-COVID sickness and Adam Schefter said it's 50-50 that he plays.

But does Vegas know something we don't? It seems so based on the odds.

The Ravens are currently -5 point favorites against the Bears on WynnBET after opening the week as -6.5 point favorites. That line movement, while notable, does not represent nearly a big enough move to suggest Vegas believes Jackson will miss this game. If he was out, the line movement would be much more significant.

When Aaron Rodgers was ruled out against the Chiefs a few weeks ago with COVID, the line for that game moved 8 points. The Chiefs were 1-point home underdogs before the news. After it, they were 7-point favorites. It was similar when Cowboys QB Dak Prescott was ruled out against the Vikings, with the line moving from Cowboys -2.5 to +4.5. If Vegas thought Jackson was out of this game, the line movement would be similar.

Now, those players were officially ruled out when the lines moved, so we do have to bear that in mind too. But if Vegas thought Jackson would miss this game, the line would likely have moved more than 1.5 points.

Schefter said on SportsCenter this morning people within the organization think Jackson will play against Chicago today, though he did reiterate it's currently 50-50. He'll be needed with WR Marquise Brown already ruled out.