Lamar Jackson is back, and the Ravens are rolling into Buffalo with a lineup that says a lot about where this season stands.
Jackson returned Sunday after missing three weeks with a high-ankle sprain, but Baltimore’s inactive list also showed how thin the margin is around him. The Ravens need a win over the Bills after back-to-back second-half collapses against the Bengals and Browns, and they’re leaning on their most established players to try to stop the slide.
Rookie guard Vega Ioane, the 14th overall pick and also the team’s best center, was out with a knee injury. Baltimore did not have him available for what could have been a short turnaround to Thursday’s game, either. Rookie receiver Elijah Sarratt, a fourth-round pick and Baltimore native, was also inactive and still looking for a way into the offense.
Another rookie, slot corner Chandler Rivers, was sidelined too. Rivers has shown strong instincts and has done a good job attacking screens in front of him, but he has been exposed in coverage, and Baltimore’s slot defense has struggled badly.
Young guard Emery Jones has been dealing with injury, which leaves the Ravens on their sixth different offensive line combination in eight games. That likely pushes struggling Andrew Vorhees back into the mix.
Aeneas Peebles, the only defensive tackle Baltimore took in a historically significant 2025 DT draft despite the position being a major need, was scratched again and still has not seen the field. Undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano is once again the emergency third quarterback, and starting safety Jaylinn Hawkins was ruled out Friday with an injury.
Jackson’s return gives Baltimore a chance to change the direction of its season, but the roster still comes with the same serious concerns that have followed the team all year. The Ravens entered 2025 with a staff built by general manager Eric DeCosta and team president Sashi Brown, who hired novice head coach Jesse Minter and put together one of only two staffs in the league without a former NFL head coach on it.
At the same time, about 20 percent of the Week 1 roster was made up of players without an NFL snap, while much of the team-record $370M payroll went to veterans on the decline on bloated contracts, including Roquan Smith, Marlon Humphrey, Mark Andrews and John Simpson.
The next few weeks will go a long way toward showing how much longer Baltimore can keep propping up some of those pieces.
In Other News...
Eli Manning Just Reminded Ravens Fans What Made Ed Reed Special
Eli Manning recently took Ravens fans back to a familiar kind of nightmare for opposing quarterbacks, recalling what it was like to face Ed Reed when the Hall of Fame safety was at his peak. Manning said the early film study could create the wrong impression, but Reeds intelligence and ball skills quickly made him look like anything but a target, which is exactly what separated him from so many other defensive backs of that era.
The memory that stood out most came from a 2004 meeting in Baltimore, when Manning had one of the roughest outings of his career against the Ravens and Reed helped make sure of it. Reeds season that year ended with Defensive Player of the Year honors and First-Team All-Pro recognition, a reminder of how often he turned preparation into production and why quarterbacks still talk about him with a mix of respect and regret. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Playmakers Could Feast In Buffalo For One Big Reason
The Ravens head to Buffalo with playoff stakes hanging over the matchup, and the timing could be just right for Baltimores passing game to make noise. Lamar Jackson is expected back after missing three games with an ankle injury, which changes the complexion of the offense immediately and gives the Ravens a much different look than theyve had lately. Against a Bills defense that has had trouble holding up against the pass, Baltimore has reason to believe its playmakers can find space in the red zone.
Zay Flowers is among the names to watch most closely, especially with the Ravens likely needing efficient production through the air to keep pace in a game that should matter deep into the AFC race. Dalton Kincaid and JaKobi Lane also fit into the broader picture of a matchup where touchdown opportunities could come from several directions. For Baltimore, the appeal is simple: if the passing game is clicking and Buffalo keeps leaking yardage through the air, the Ravens have multiple ways to turn that into points. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Red Zone Problems Are Raising Bigger Questions Entering A Critical Week
The Ravens red zone issues have become hard to ignore, and they arrive at a moment when the offense is still trying to find its footing around Lamar Jacksons return. Baltimore has shuffled through multiple offensive line combinations, and the lack of consistency has shown up in the way the unit has operated near the goal line, where the passing game has been used sparingly and the margin for error has shrunk.
Vega Ioanes knee injury only adds another layer to the problem, pushing the Ravens into yet another starting line setup as they head into a critical week. The timing matters because the offense is not the only concern, either. Baltimores defense has also been under pressure, with the numbers pointing to trouble generating heat on the quarterback and getting off the field on third down, which leaves the team searching for answers on both sides of the ball. [Read more 🡒]