Ravens’ Lamar Jackson ‘extremely excited’ to return Thursday night

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Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson said he is “very excited” to play against the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.

Jackson missed three games since injuring his right hamstring in a loss against Kansas City on Sept. 28. He returned to full practice this week and is slated to start against the Dolphins.

“Extremely excited,” Jackson said Tuesday. “I can’t wait to touch the grass with my guys. It’s been awhile. I feel good, feel great.”

In his absence, Baltimore first went with Cooper Rush before turning the offense over the Tyler Huntley, who engineered a 30-16 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

“It was very challenging,” Jackson said of being sidelined. “You don’t want to rush (back from) a hamstring injury and make it worse, and then now you’re out for the whole season.

“I feel like hamstring injuries can be tricky. This was my first time having one, and I thought I’d be able to move sometimes, and then I would feel a little tug early on when I was rehabbing. I didn’t want to end my season or end my career on a hamstring injury.”

Jackson returns at a critical juncture for the Ravens (2-5). The Miami contest kicks off a three-game road trip that includes visits to Minnesota and Cleveland before Baltimore returns home for a three-game stretch against the New York Jets and AFC North rivals Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

The Ravens snapped a four-game losing streak against the Bears and are currently two games behind the first-place Steelers (4-3) with two games yet to play against Pittsburgh.

“Coach (John Harbaugh) touched on that with us in a team meeting — each and every game is going to be like a win-or-go-home game,” Jackson said. “It’s do-or-die right now, each and every week.”

Jackson doesn’t anticipate thinking about his hamstring when he takes the field against the Dolphins.

–Field Level Media