Lamar Jackson’s 2025 season was different than his other seven NFL campaigns.
He missed four games due to injury. His Ravens failed to reach the playoffs. And for the first time in his career, Jackson logged fewer than 100 rushing attempts, finishing with 67 carries for 349 yards and two touchdowns.
The reduction wasn’t entirely surprising, given Jackson was injured for a significant portion of the season and didn’t quite look like himself until the final month. As the two-time NFL MVP explained Wednesday, his health prevented him from playing his brand of football, which inevitably affected the entire Baltimore offense.
“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, via ESPN. “But whatever it takes to win, that is what I am all about and [I have] always been about that, too.”
It might also be a sign of things to come. Jackson is entering his first season under new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, and he’s also approaching his 30th birthday. If longevity is the top priority, Jackson would be wise to reduce his exposure to contact.
That seems to be a focus of Doyle’s as he embarks on his first year as Baltimore’s play-caller.
“I would say that that really is dependent on who we’re playing that week, what do we think we need,” Doyle said in late July, via ESPN. “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.'”
Jackson hasn’t stopped scrambling entirely during preseason practices, taking off a couple of times during Wednesday’s joint session with Washington. But unlike the early years of Jackson’s career in which he operated under former OC Greg Roman’s direction, the designed runs aren’t as frequent — at least not as of now.
It’s easy to justify focusing on making Jackson into more of a passer than a runner. He’s already logged over 1,000 rushing attempts in his career, but he’s also missed at least one game in all but one season (2024).
As the Ravens’ most important player, availability is paramount. Jackson’s dual-threat nature is also essential to maximizing his value behind center.
It will be up to Doyle to carefully balance the two while keeping opposing defenses on their toes.
