Baltimore’s Week 5 preparation is suddenly built around two separate injury questions: whether Lamar Jackson can play through an ankle injury, and how the Ravens replace Durham Smythe after a season-ending torn Achilles.
Jackson went down in the win over the Tennessee Titans, and the current read on his status is not encouraging. He has not been completely ruled out, but things are trending in the wrong direction, and he only has an outside chance to play Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. At minimum, the Ravens might be without him for one game, which leaves their quarterback plan unsettled heading into the week.
If Jackson cannot go, Tyler Huntley is the obvious next man up. He is active, he has started 11 games for Baltimore, and he owns a 5-6 record in those starts. The Ravens have already seen what that looks like in real time: Huntley took over in Week 4, and the offense went scoreless in the second half. Baltimore also simplified Declan Doyle’s playbook when Huntley entered the game, a reminder that the backup plan comes with its own limits.
That makes the timing of Jackson’s injury especially awkward. The Ravens are not just waiting on a quarterback decision; they are trying to build a Week 5 game plan around the possibility that the offense will look different at the most important position on the field.
The tight end situation is its own problem.
Smythe suffered a season-ending torn Achilles, and Baltimore signed him this offseason because he knew Declan Doyle’s offense. He had not been a major part of the passing game — just one catch for four yards in four games this season — but his value showed up elsewhere. Smythe was a critical weapon in the run game this year, and the Ravens now have to replace that blocking presence without changing the rest of the offense around him.
That leaves Baltimore with two separate personnel issues that do not solve each other. Jackson’s ankle injury could force Huntley into the lineup again. Smythe’s injury removes one of the team’s better blocking tight ends from the season entirely. One is a short-term quarterback question. The other is a season-long roster hole.
For a team trying to get through Week 5, that is a difficult combination to manage.