Sorry to be Captain Obvious, here, but when an NFL team loses a former MVP to injury, well, that's a bad thing.
And for a team Super Bowl aspirations, it's even worse.
Just ask the Baltimore Ravens.
Midway through the third quarter of last Sunday's Ravens vs. Chiefs tilt, Ravens QB Lamar Jackson suffered a pulled hamstring. The Baltimore Sun reports that the injury could have the former MVP on the shelf for multiple games. Former Cowboys QB Cooper Rush took over for Jackson in the 37-20 loss.
The Ravens now sit at 1-3, tied for last place in the AFC North, which begs the question, how will the 28-year-old superstar's injury impact both the Ravens and the 2025 fantasy football landscape?
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Lamar Jackson Injury Update
The Baltimore Sun reported that Jackson will likely miss the Ravens' next two or three games. Considering Baltimore has a bye in Week 7, there's a possibility Jackson might not see the field again until October 30.
Ravens Fantasy Football Impact Without Lamar Jackson
If the Ravens are to make a playoff push — which would require a significant run, as just approximately 13% of NFL teams that begin the season 1-3 claw their way into the postseason — they'll need to do so with Cooper Rush, a QB who isn't anybody's idea of a statistical beast.
This all could lead to some grim stuff on the gridiron — but is it more, less, or equally concerning for your fantasy box score?
Let's see the how trickle-down effect might look in Ba.
QB Cooper Rush
During his his final ten starts with the Dallas Cowboys filling in for QB Dak Prescott in 2024, Rush posted a record of 4-6, tossing 5 picks and taking 13 sacks to go with 12 TD passes.
As per Pro Football Reference, since 2020, only three other quarterbacks have suffered more sacks than they've thrown TDs in a single season, with a minimum of ten starts, those being Sam Howell in 2023 (21 TDs, 65 sacks), Bryce Young in 2023 (11 TDs, 62 sacks), Justin Fields in 2023. (16 TDs, 44 sacks), and Caleb Williams in 2024 (20 TDs, 68 sacks).
Their combined record over those stretches was 14-49, as per StatMuse.
If Jackson does indeed miss those two weeks, Rush will have to mess with a pair of the league’s toughest defenses, those being the Texans (fifth-ranked) and the Rams (ninth-ranked), likely making him a dart-throw at best, and a lineup-killer at worst.
RB Derrick Henry
Despite coughing up the ball an uncharacteristic 3 times here in 2025, the 31-year-old has been his usual King Henry-ish self, averaging 5.8 yards per carry, and punching in 3 touchdowns. While it’s early, he’s on pace to match last season's career high 5.9 yards per attempt.
With Rush running the show, it's likely the Ravens OC Todd Moken will lean on Henry, big-time.
WR Zay Flowers
This season, Baltimore's de facto WR1 Flowers has been targeted 31 times — no one else on the team has seen more than 18 — hauling in 23 of them for 305 receiving yards, tying him for eighth in the league.
Flowers has played 79%+ snaps in all four games this season, and if Rush is going to make any noise during his tenure as the starter, he'll probably need to feed Flowers early and often.
Top Waiver Wire QBs to Replace Lamar Jackson
As of now, Jackson won't be headed to IR, so if he's your QB1, you'll only need a short-term solution from the waiver wire. Hopefully. Here are a few pickups to target.
- Houston Texans QB CJ Stroud is rostered in only 55% of Yahoo leagues. The former OSU Buckeye just picked up his first win of the season, and in Week 5, coincidentally enough, faces a Ravens team that sits third from the bottom in fantasy points allowed to opposing QBs (22.99), as per NFL.com.
- New York Giants rookie QB Jaxson Dart is rostered in a mere 24% of Yahoo leagues, and in Week 5, lines up against a New Orleans Saints D that gives up 20.62 fantasy points to opposing QBs, ranking 26th.
- Rostered in just 21% of leagues, Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold matches up against the eighth-worst fantasy defense vs. QBs, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
These three options likely won't win you a league, but they might keep you afloat until Jackson heals up.
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