Lamar: Injuries to blame for fewer runs in 2025

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  Jamison HensleyAug 26, 2026, 03:28 PM ET

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  Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson provided an explanation for why he ran the ball for the fewest times of his eight-year career last season.

"I believe you know ... a lot of people know [that] I was hurt last year, so I really could not do anything like I wanted to," Jackson said after Wednesday's joint practice with the Washington Commanders.

Jackson, who owns the NFL record for most rushing yards by a quarterback, totaled 67 rush attempts last season. In his previous seven seasons, he averaged 144 carries each year.

Jackson's run of injuries last season began in Week 4 in Kansas City, where he injured his right hamstring and missed the next three games. Over the course of November and December, Jackson missed one practice for four straight weeks due to knee, ankle and toe injuries.

Then, Jackson didn't play in a Week 17 game in Green Bay because of a back contusion. In total, he started and finished 11 of 17 games last season.

"It really would not [have] put my team in a good position if I was just running hurt -- losing yards, things like that [were] happening," Jackson said. "But whatever it takes to win, that is what I am all about and [I have] always been about that too."

Jackson surpassed Michael Vick for the most rushing yards by a quarterback and has produced 6,522 yards rushing for his career. He has also run the ball 1,081 times, 38 attempts shy of breaking Cam Newton's record for most career carries by a quarterback.

But Jackson's scrambles and quarterback-designed runs plummeted last season. He averaged 5.2 carries per game last season after never averaging below eight per game from 2018 to 2024.

Asked if he thinks he will run the ball more like he did in his previous seasons, Jackson replied, "Whatever it takes to win."

During the joint practice with the Commanders, Jackson scrambled a couple of times, which is what he's basically done for each of his training camp practices this summer. He also didn't have any quarterback-driven runs against Washington.

When Jackson has taken off, he hasn't looked like a quarterback who is five months away from turning 30.

"I feel like he got faster," safety Kyle Hamilton said at the start of training camp.

Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle has been a part of offenses in the past -- Taysom Hill in New Orleans and Bo Nix in Denver -- where there have been quarterback-designed runs. Doyle expects the number of run plays for Jackson will vary throughout the season.

"I would say that that really is dependent on who we're playing that week, what do we think we need," Doyle said at the start of training camp. "It helps to have that guy that can beat a defense. And yet at the same point in time, you want to make sure he's your most valuable guy. You want to make sure that you're keeping him out of harm's way. And so at times it, 'Hey buddy, we need it right here.' And at times you're like, 'Hey, I have better plays that I can call.'"