NFL Rumors: Lamar Jackson 'Shocked' Ravens by Not Returning for Playoffs amid Injury

When Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson wasn't able to return for the playoffs this year, it caught more than a few people by surprise.

According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Jamison Hensley, "players and coaches figured he'd be back for the playoffs, according to multiple team sources."

"Whoo, boy—I was shocked by that," a team source added of Jackson missing the postseason.

Another team source was more inclined to believe that Jackson's knee wasn't right and he wasn't ready to play, telling ESPN, "How do you dispute that? You have to respect the player's outlook on his own injury."

In the week leading up to Baltimore's 24-17 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals, Jackson dropped a tweet saying he had a Grade 2 PCL sprain and inflammation around his knee, and said he wouldn't be playing.

It had followed weeks of uncertainty about his injury status and when he might return. The answer for the Ravens, as rumors continue to swirl around his future as he heads toward free agency this offseason, is potentially never.

Time will tell on that front. But in terms of whether Jackson might have given it a go in the playoffs if he already had secured a long-term extension with Baltimore, general manager Eric DeCosta wasn't buying that theory.

"Lamar can speak to that, but my feeling is no," he said after the season ended. "I think Lamar was hurt. We see him every single day—he's hurt. And his unique style as a player, as a quarterback, but as a mobile quarterback... having a knee injury—a serious knee injury—makes it difficult. And so, it's just unfortunate that he got hurt [and] the timing of it. I know he was trying to come back. ... It was just bad timing, and I think bad luck for us and bad luck for Lamar."

Jackson, 26, remains one of the NFL's most dynamic playmakers when healthy, throwing for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 12 games this year while completing 62.3 percent of his passes and taking 26 sacks. He also rushed for 764 yards and three scores.

So long as he's in Baltimore, the Ravens are contenders. His future has never been in more doubt, however.