Lamar Jackson's Status Reportedly Unclear for Ravens vs. Bears Amid Hamstring Injury

The Baltimore Ravens desperately need star quarterback Lamar Jackson on the field, but his status for Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears is still unclear.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the latest on Thursday:

"I gotta be honest, I think it's still up in the air," Schefter said (21:50 mark). "As we tape this Thursday morning, he came out to practice 23 minutes late on Wednesday. I think the team was encouraged that he was back then. I reached out to a couple of people, and the answer I got back was, 'we gotta see how he does Thursday.' They may be playing it coy and not wanting to say anything. That definitely could be the case. My sense is, the fact that he's back at practice—if he's practicing when they're in the spot they're in, he's gonna be playing."

Schefter also noted that he texted a source asking about Jackson's status, and the source told him he would "feel more comfortable after" Thursday's practice.

Jackson suffered a hamstring injury in Baltimore's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 28. He has since missed two games, both of which were losses. He practiced for the first time since the injury on Wednesday.

He once again practiced on Thursday, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic.

Before the injury, Jackson had thrown for 869 yards, 10 touchdowns and an interception, adding 166 yards and a score on the ground. Baltimore went 1-3 with Jackson on the field.

Jackson's replacements have struggled in the last two games. Cooper Rush threw for 179 yards and three touchdowns in a 44-10 loss to the Houston Texans. He had 72 yards and an interception against the Los Angeles Rams two weeks ago, and Tyler Huntley also took some snaps, throwing for 68 yards.

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The Ravens obviously don't want to risk Jackson injuring his hamstring further, but there is some urgency for him to get back on the field given Baltimore's standing heading into Week 8.

The Ravens are 1-5 heading into their matchup against the Chicago Bears, and they can't afford to continue dropping games. Having Jackson back won't solve all their issues, but he would give them a significant boost on offense.

Luckily for Baltimore, it has a manageable slate ahead. After facing the Bears this week, the Ravens will take on the Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals, all of which are winnable games.

If Jackson is still sidelined, those contests will not be quite as easy.