Lamar Jackson will not play Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, and Tyler Huntley will start for the Baltimore Ravens. The ruling came Friday after Jackson missed all three practices this week, making the answer to Is Lamar Jackson Playing a clear no for Week 6.
It is the second game Jackson has missed since he sprained his left ankle in a win over the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 4, and it leaves Baltimore without its starter again in a divisional game that carries weight in the AFC North race. The Ravens still hold a one-game lead, so this is not just a lineup note; it is a test of how much they can lean on Huntley without losing ground.
Huntley has earned that chance. He has won his past three starts as a fill-in for Jackson, including a 30-23 overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons in which he scored the winning touchdown on a 1-yard sneak. Since the start of the 2025 season, he has posted the NFL’s highest QBR, 79.7, among starting quarterbacks with at least three starts, and the highest completion rate at 77.8%. Baltimore has averaged 33.7 points per game in those three victories.
The part that made Friday matter was the gap between expectation and reality. A league source earlier in the week said Jackson had a realistic chance to return against Cleveland, and Jesse Minter said Friday that the injury was not more serious than first thought. But Jackson still sat out all three practices, and that left the Ravens with the same answer they had in the middle of the week: not yet.
That pushes the focus to what comes next, not what was hoped for a few days ago. Jackson’s ankle has not been described as worse, only not ready, which means the unresolved question is how quickly he can be cleared after missing this one. For now, Baltimore moves forward with Huntley, while Jackson waits for the return that was possible, then postponed.
