Offense Will Not Slow Down for Lamar Jackson
Lamar Jackson will return to practice Friday or Saturday, but the offense won’t start from square one once he’s back under center. Jackson will have missed 10 days while on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Since then, the offense has steadily been installing and rehearsing more of Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman’s playbook.
Roman spoke last week about opening up more “chapters” of his playbook, and he’ll continue that process while Jackson tries to make up for lost time.
“I mean, the train has already left the station,” Roman said. “He’s in his cabin car right now, but once he gets out of there, the train is down the road. It’s going to be a little bit of a game of, ‘we’re staying on schedule, but these are certain things we need to hit. Especially with these two players, for example. We need to make sure we get these two guys on the same page.”
Another key piece of the offense, wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, has been out since the second practice due to a hamstring injury, though he’s still at least in the building.
The other balancing act is whether Jackson will be physically ready for a full workload or will need to be ease into action. Roman said that is “really hard to predict right now” and will be day-to-day.
While it will take some juggling, Roman said it’s “very realistic” to get Jackson and others up to speed while not slowing down the rest of the operation.
“We still have plenty of time,” Roman said. “The first game is not till somewhere, September something. Yes, we have some time, and I think we have enough time. The big thing is to get him healthy, get him right and make sure he’s in a good place.”
