Lamar Jackson sits out Baltimore Ravens practice due to sore back

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was sidelined Wednesday with a sore back.

Jackson has never missed a game due to injury in his four-year NFL career. The only games in which he didn’t play were the 2019 season finale (when the Ravens had already clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC) and Week 12 last season in Pittsburgh (after he had tested positive for COVID-19).

Jackson took some hard hits and got sacked a season-high four times in Sunday’s 19-17 win over the Detroit Lions. In three games this season, Jackson seems to have taken on tacklers more than in the past and has been hit a league-high 44 times, five more than any other quarterback.

With running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards out for the season, Jackson has been Baltimore’s top rushing threat, ranking fourth in the NFL with 251 yards. He appeared fine when he spoke to reporters for eight minutes Wednesday.

This is the second straight week that Jackson has missed a practice. Last Thursday, he was out with an illness. Jackson then went on to beat the Lions, joining Patrick Mahomes, Kurt Warner and Dan Marino as the only quarterbacks in NFL history with 32 wins in their first 40 career starts.

With Jackson out Wednesday, Tyler Huntley took snaps with the first-team offense. Huntley has never started an NFL game.