Ravens fined $100K by NFL for violating injury report policy regarding Lamar Jackson's Week 8 status
The Baltimore Ravens have been fined $100,000 by the NFL for violating the league's injury report policy after quarterback Lamar Jackson was incorrectly listed last Friday ahead of their Week 8 game against the Chicago Bears.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the league believes "the violation was the result of negligence, not an attempt to gain a competitive advantage."
Had the NFL's investigation resulted in the league determining the Ravens' violation was "intentional or competitive in nature," there would have a been a more severe punishment, which could have seen Baltimore lose draft picks.
"It is critical that the Baltimore Ravens always operate with integrity and in full accordance with NFL guidelines," read a Friday statement from the Ravens. "We clearly made an error regarding player injury reporting and cooperated transparently with the league's investigation.
"We accept the decision by the NFL that we violated the policy and have taken steps to ensure that we will be compliant moving forward. We will not appeal the ruling and are focused on our upcoming game versus the Vikings."
Last week, it looked like Jackson would be returning to play in Week 8 after missing two games. After being limited during practice on Wednesday and Thursday, the Ravens quarterback was listed as a full participant, an indication he was set to return against the Bears.
On Saturday, the Ravens retroactively downgraded Jackson's Friday practice status from "full" to "limited" and ruled him out against the Bears. The NFL announced it would investigate the matter after it was discovered Jackson was limited to reps with the scout team on Friday and not with the team's starters.
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Jackson ended up missing the victory over the Bears but did finally return from his hamstring injury for Thursday night's win over the Miami Dolphins.
Following the Week 8 Chicago game, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said the team made an honest mistake with Jackson's injury designation.