Lamar Jackson day-to-day as Minter heats up on Tyler Loop

The Ravens dropped to 4-2 in Cleveland with Tyler Huntley under center, so the first question Monday was the obvious one: when does 8 come back?

Jeff Zrebiec

@jeffzrebiec

Minter is still putting Lamar Jackson as "day-to-day." Says he'll know a lot more Wednesday. Asked if Jackson will practice this week, Minter said, "Potentially."

"Potentially" is coach-speak, but it beats the alternative. Jackson has missed 2 games with the ankle and had not practiced in the past 2 weeks, so getting him on the field Wednesday in any form would be real movement. Asked whether Jackson has made progress, Minter kept it to one word: "Yes." Wednesday's injury report is the one to watch.

Without Lamar, Sunday came down to the margins, and Baltimore lost nearly all of them. The Ravens jumped out to a 10-point lead, then stopped scoring. Loop missed a 49-yarder in the 4th quarter that would have made it a 2-score game, a Derrick Henry fumble set up the tying Browns touchdown, and Andre Szmyt won it with a 37-yard field goal as time expired. Minter called it a disappointing game and said his team had plenty of chances between halftime and the 4th quarter to build a bigger lead.

The kicker is where Minter got pointed. A first-year head coach who has mostly kept his criticism in-house didn't dance around this one.

Jeff Zrebiec

@jeffzrebiec

Minter said that some of Tyler Loop's misses has been critical. "That position itself is completely results driven. We'll continue to work with him, but we need to make second-half kicks. You can argue that second-half missed kicks are almost like turnovers."

Calling missed second-half kicks "almost like turnovers" is about as blunt as a coach gets on a podium. It also isn't new for Loop: earlier this season he left a 40-yarder short late in a game where a make would have put Baltimore up 17, and back then Minter brushed it off, pointing to the 56-yard game-winner Loop hit in Week 3. The patience seems to have worn thin.

Jeff Zrebiec

@jeffzrebiec

Minter didn't dismiss the idea of bringing in another kicker. He's been pretty reluctant to criticize or challenge players publicly early in his tenure as HC, but he's been pretty strong about frustration with Loop's misses today.

Not ruling out another kicker is the tell. This is the post-Justin Tucker era in Baltimore, and a team that spent a decade never thinking about field goals now has its head coach openly hinting he might bring in competition. If a kicker shows up on the workout list this week, nobody should be surprised.

The rest of the injury news leaned positive. Minter said Cam Jurgens has come a long way from his concussion and has a chance to play Sunday, Rashod Bateman played through a shoulder issue and there's "a little bit of optimism" he'll be fine, and Hendrickson's health is an "ongoing" thing Minter feels good about. Get Jurgens back at center and Lamar back under him and this offense looks very different. Keep missing kicks and none of that will matter.