Lamar Jackson Is Ruled Out and Tyler Huntley Starts for the Ravens in Atlanta on Sunday Night

The Baltimore Ravens will play Sunday night without Lamar Jackson. Head coach Jesse Minter announced Friday that Jackson's left ankle sprain will keep him out of the Week 5 game at Atlanta, and Tyler Huntley will make his first start of the season. Jackson did not practice at all during the week, and this will be the first game he misses in 2026.

The decision settles a question that had been leaning one way since Tuesday, when NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Jackson had only an outside chance to play. It also lands the Ravens (3-1) on the road in prime time against a Falcons team that is 2-2 and coming off a 45-24 rout of New Orleans. Baltimore will also be without edge rusher Trey Hendrickson (finger), who was ruled out again.

How Jackson Got Hurt and What the Timeline Looks Like

Jackson's ankle was rolled late in the first half of the Week 4 win over Tennessee on a sack by Jermaine Johnson II. Before leaving, he had completed 15 of 20 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns, and Baltimore led 24-7. Huntley handled the second half, going 8 of 9 for 63 yards without a turnover as the Ravens held on to win 24-18.

Minter described the injury as day to day early in the week, but reports during the week conflicted on severity, with some outlets suggesting it could stretch beyond one game. Minter did not give a firm return date on Friday, and whether Jackson is available for the following week against Cleveland remains open. Fantasy managers should treat Jackson as a week-to-week situation until he is back on the practice field in some capacity.

Huntley's Track Record as a Fill-In

Huntley is not a stranger to this role. His most recent start came on December 27, 2025, a 41-24 win at Green Bay in which he completed 16 of 20 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown while adding 60 rushing yards on eight carries. That game was really a Derrick Henry showcase: Henry ran for 216 yards and four touchdowns, a record for a visiting player at Lambeau Field.

That box score tells the story of how Baltimore tends to operate without Jackson. The passing volume shrinks, the quarterback contributes as a runner on designed plays and scrambles, and the offense leans on Henry. Minter told reporters the team has a great deal of confidence in Huntley, and the expectation from coverage in Baltimore is a game plan built on the run and short, quick throws rather than shots downfield.

The context is less friendly this time. Atlanta's run defense has been among the league's best through four weeks by several measures, and Henry has not reached 100 rushing yards in a game since Week 1.

Fantasy Fallout: Henry, Flowers, Andrews and Huntley

Derrick Henry is still a start, but the profile changes. Without Jackson stressing defenses as a runner, opponents can crowd the box, and Atlanta has the personnel to do it. Henry's floor rests on volume and goal-line work rather than efficiency here. Treat him as a volume-driven RB2 with touchdown upside, not a locked-in RB1 against this front.

Zay Flowers carries the most risk. He was limited all week with a foot injury and is officially questionable, with reports split on how likely he is to play. Even if he suits up, his ceiling drops with Huntley throwing. If Flowers sits, Rashod Bateman and Mark Andrews become Huntley's primary targets. Andrews is the more appealing of the two in this setting: a backup quarterback working short and intermediate areas tends to find the tight end, and Andrews remains a red-zone presence. Bateman is a deep-league flex dart at best.

Tyler Huntley himself is a superflex or two-quarterback league option because of his rushing. Sixty rushing yards in his last full start is the kind of floor that matters in those formats. In standard one-quarterback leagues, he is not a recommended streamer on the road against a quality defense.

On the Atlanta side, the Ravens' defensive absences matter. Hendrickson is out and Humphrey is questionable, which nudges the matchup in favor of the Falcons' passing game and keeps Bijan Robinson a firm RB1 coming off his multi-touchdown performance against the Saints. If Humphrey cannot go, Atlanta's receivers gain a step in their individual matchups.

The Betting Angle

The market moved hard on Jackson's status. Baltimore opened the week as a road favorite of roughly six points in lookahead lines, and the number flipped as Jackson's availability faded. As of Friday, DraftKings listed Atlanta as a 3.5-point favorite, with other books showing Falcons -2.5 to -3.5. The total sits around 43.5 at most shops. One sportsbook trader told reporters the market values Jackson at about five points to the spread, which is roughly what this line has absorbed.

Historically, Baltimore has struggled without Jackson, going 6-11 in games he has missed, per reporting this week. That record is a broad sample spread across different rosters and coaching staffs, so it is context rather than a predictor. The more useful point for bettors is that the injury news is now fully public, so any remaining value lives in how the Ravens' run-first approach interacts with a total in the low 40s, and in player props tied to Henry's volume and Huntley's rushing.

Verdexed's full model call for this game lives at /nfl/predictions, and the complete Week 5 board is on /blog/nfl-week-5-picks-2026. Check both after Sunday's final injury designations, especially the call on Flowers.

What's Next

The final piece of news to watch is Flowers. If the Ravens downgrade or declare him inactive before the 8:20 p.m. ET kickoff on NBC, Andrews moves up as a start in tight end-needy lineups, and the Ravens' passing props shift accordingly. Humphrey's status matters for anyone starting Falcons receivers.

Beyond Sunday, the timeline on Jackson is the storyline that drives Baltimore's next several weeks. A one-game absence would barely dent the Ravens' AFC North standing, but managers holding Jackson should be prepared for the possibility that this lingers. Huntley is worth a roster spot in superflex leagues now, and in deeper one-quarterback leagues for Jackson managers who want insurance.

Expect clarity early next week, when Baltimore's first injury report ahead of Cleveland shows whether Jackson can return to practice.