Lamar Jackson took part in practice for the third straight day on Friday, an encouraging sign for the Baltimore Ravens quarterback's chances of playing against the Cincinnati Bengals.
But while it was good to see Jackson in practice again after missing two games due to a high ankle sprain suffered in Week 4, no one is ready to declare him 100% back for Sunday.
"He's been able to get some work in these past couple of days," head coach Jesse Minter said. "Between Lamar and our staff, it's going to be a decision based on him and how he feels and how effective it could be. He's had a good couple of days, but we'll see how it goes over the next 48 hours."
Minter added he wasn't sure how Jackson would be listed on the team's Friday injury report and that a final decision on his status could come close to game time.
Jackson missed two weeks of practice following the injury, but the work he's done off the field has him in a place for a possible return this weekend.
"Right now, I'm headed in the right direction," Jackson said about his status for Week 7. "We'll see, hopefully."
Jackson said the biggest factor in whether he plays this week is not any swelling, but how much of the pain he can deal with.
"I feel like the swelling went down a lot," Jackson said. "It's just the pain tolerance. Just trying to move how I move. If I can't do that, I can't help my team."
Tyler Huntley has filled in for Jackson since the injury. He entered the game against the Tennessee Titans in Week 4 and helped Baltimore to a win. He has since started each of the past two weeks — a win over the Atlanta Falcons and a defeat to the Cleveland Browns. In those two starts he's thrown for 336 yards with three touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 68% pass completion percentage.
"It's just like every week," Huntley said of potentially getting a third straight start. "Just prepare to play and then once we get to Sunday we'll see."